System, method and apparatus for tracking deployment of cellular telephone network sites

ABSTRACT

A system, method and apparatus is disclosed for tracking deployment of cellular telephone network sites and providing real-time characteristic information about the deployment to one or more users. The system includes a plurality of computers interconnected in a network for use in tracking the deployment of the cellular telephone sites, the plurality of computers each having one or more processors, a memory device for storing one or more sets of instructions to be executed and a storage device coupled to the one or more processors, at least one computer being operative to execute the one or more sets of instructions. The method includes providing a user interface accepting project variables entered into a computer; color coding changes that are made to the variables; in real-time, determining cellular telephone site deployment characteristics based on current project variables; and providing the deployment characteristics to an output device. The apparatus includes a computer for use in tracking the deployment of the cellular telephone sites, the computer having one or more processors that execute one or more sets of instructions, a memory device for storing the one or more sets of instructions to be executed and a storage device coupled to the one or more processors.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The system, method and apparatus relate generally to telecommunications.More particularly, the system, method and apparatus relate to trackingthe deployment of cellular telephone network sites.

2. Description of Related Art

Related art systems provide data and processes, such as computersoftware programs, in multiple databases, spreadsheets and other filesthat are not interrelated, interconnected or in communication with eachother. Accordingly, users of such data and processes on a distributednetwork are unable to execute the software programs and access the dataon a real-time basis. For example, such users are unable to accessmodifications to the data or upgrades to the software programs.Furthermore, such users are unable to access changes to data which mayhave an effect on the user's function or processes made by others, on areal-time basis. There are no known related art systems that providereal-time access to a network-organized repository of data andprocesses, such as software programs, within a distributed data andprocesses information system.

Telecommunication systems generally employ switches that establish andrelease connections between two or more communication circuits.Generally, a control processor is utilized to control the operation ofone or more telecommunication switches in a given geographic region. Thecontrol processor may be utilized to control the operation of one ormore digital cellular switches deployed in a particulartelecommunication system in a given city. Different geographic regionscan generally deploy one or more telecommunication switches that are inturn controlled by a telecommunication switch control processor.

Failures that occur during a telecommunication transaction can betracked by generating a failure message at the telecommunication switchcontrol processor. Such failure messages generated at thetelecommunication switch control processor are referred to as callprocessing failures occurring at the telecommunication switch controlprocessor.

In general, related art systems provide reports of such call processingfailures occurring at the telecommunication switch control processor.The reports are useful to a telecommunication system performanceevaluation team for purposes of evaluating the overall operation of thetelecommunication system. In accordance with the reports, theperformance evaluation team will generally take remedial actions basedon an analysis of the cell processing the failure data. However, inrelated art telecommunication systems, such reports are normallyavailable only for the previous day and are not available substantiallyconcurrently with the occurrence of a failure. There are no knownsystems that allow a telecommunication system performance evaluationteam to receive and evaluate reports of call processing failuresoccurring at the telephone switch control processor on a real-timebasis. Accordingly, the performance evaluation team cannot take thenecessary remedial action in response to the call processing failure ona real-time basis.

Failures that occur during a telecommunication transaction can also betracked by generating a failure message at the digital cellular switch.Such failure messages generated at the digital cellular switch arereferred to as call processing failures occurring at the digitalcellular switch.

In general, related art systems provide such digital cellular switchfailure reports. The reports are useful to a telecommunication systemperformance evaluation team for purposes of evaluating the overalloperation of the telecommunication system. In accordance with thereports, the performance evaluation team will generally take remedialactions based on an analysis of the call processing failure data.However, in related art telecommunication systems, such reports arenormally available only for the previous day and are not availablesubstantially concurrently with the occurrence of a failure. There areno known systems that allow a telecommunication system performanceevaluation team to evaluate reports of call processing failuresoccurring at the digital cellular switch on a real-time basis.Accordingly, the performance evaluation team cannot take the necessaryremedial action in response to the call processing failure on areal-time basis.

Telecommunication transaction records (call records) generally arecollected from mobile telephone subscribers and used for variouspurposes. For example, the call records can be used for billingpurposes, for tracking illegal activity, for troubleshooting thetelecommunication system and the like. Related art methods and systemscan obtain call records through either the billing system or bysearching through every telecommunication switch on the system.

Searching for telephone call records in the billing system has severaldrawbacks. One drawback of such a system is that it could take days orweeks to obtain the call records.

Another related art method and system obtains the call records bysearching within every telecommunication switch throughout thetelecommunication system. The drawback with searching the switches forcall records is that a user must perform the searching function at everyexisting switch. Accordingly, it may take up to 2-4 hours or more inorder to obtain a complete set of call records at the central office.Another drawback of searching at every telecommunication switch locationis that telephone call records are available at the switch insofar asthere is adequate disk storage available at the switch. For example,generally, a switch only holds 3 to 4 days' worth of call records in itsstorage disk. Any call record older than 3 to 4 days would generally notbe available to the user.

There are no known related art systems that can provide telephone callrecords on a real-time basis. For example, there are no known methods orsystems that collect all incoming call records in real-time from mobiletelecommunication devices of various subscribers of thetelecommunication system. Furthermore, there are no known related artsystems or methods that make the call records available to a user inreal-time. As an example, real-time means substantially concurrentlywith the telecommunication device hanging up. In general, within 10-15seconds of the telecommunication device hanging up, the call recordsbecome available for the user to review and manipulate. In addition,there are no known related art systems or methods that store the callrecords for longer than about 3 to 5 days.

Related art telecommunication methods and systems for collecting andcommunicating court-ordered requests of call records were found to beundependable. Such methods and systems collect transactional callrecords requested by court order and a telecommunication switch sendsthe call records to an agency that is responsible for managing andprocessing the court orders. However, if any problems are encounteredwithin the telecommunication system, the call records are lost andcannot be communicated to the responsible agency.

There are no known methods or systems that filter incoming call recordsfrom a call record database associated with a court order andautomatically communicate those call records, either by way ofelectronic mail (e-mail) message or by way of facsimile transmission, tothe agency responsible for generating the court-ordered request. Also,there are no known methods or systems that make the call recordsavailable even if the court-ordered request is generated after the fact.

Related art systems are unable to obtain real-time telecommunicationcell-specific information during call outages or emergencies. There areno known methods or systems that allow users to obtain up-to-datereal-time information associated with a cellular telephone network whenneeded.

Related art systems are unable to obtain information regarding thedeployment of cellular telecommunication sites on a real-time basis. Forexample, related systems are generally not updated with currentinformation until a deployment project team meets at periodic intervals.In the meantime, deployment project team members are generally unawareof the status of the deployment project until a meeting is held.Accordingly, there is a need for a real-time process that is able toprovide deployment project members with real-time up-to-date projectinformation substantially instantaneously once it is entered into theprocess. Furthermore, there is a need for a process that eliminates theneed for maintaining separate databases spread out across variousproject teams and updating the separate databases.

There are no known related art processes that can provide project teamsmembers with real-time up to date project information once thatinformation is entered into the process. There are no known processesthat eliminate the need for maintaining separate databases spread outacross various project teams and updating the separate databases. Forexample the MICROSOFT PROJECT TM process does not provide the type ofbenefits required for obtaining up to date real-time informationassociated with the deployment of cellular telecommunication networksites. There are no known related art systems that interact with auser's or project team's electronic mail system to provide real-timeinformation such that when a user executes instructions associated withthe process they are made aware of any changes in project status on areal-time basis and they are provided with access to the updated projectdata on a real-time basis.

In addition, there are no known related art systems or methods thatprovide auto down streaming, such that if a user changes a projectvariable such as a date, the process can automatically change downstreamdates. Also, there are no known related art systems that provide theuser with an electronic mail message if a particular project variable isedited or has been satisfied. There are no known related art systemsthat allow a user to obtain up to date real-time information associatedwith the deployment of cellular telecommunication network sites.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the invention the limitations of the related artdescribed above and other limitations that will become apparent uponreading and understanding the present specification are overcome byproviding a system, method and apparatus for obtaining real-timeinformation associated with the deployment of cellular telephone networksites. The system, method and apparatus provide a user with theinformation regarding the deployment of cellular telephone network siteson a real-time basis.

One aspect of the invention provides a method for tracking deployment ofcellular telephone network sites and providing real-time characteristicinformation about the deployment to one or more users. The methodincludes providing a user interface for entering project variables intoa computer; color coding changes that are made to the variables; inreal-time, determining cellular telephone site deploymentcharacteristics based on current project variables; and providing thedeployment characteristics to an output device.

Another aspect of the invention provides an apparatus for trackingdeployment of cellular telephone network sites and providing real-timecharacteristic information about the deployment to one or more users.The apparatus includes a computer for use in tracking the deployment ofthe cellular telephone sites, the computer having one or more processorsthat execute one or more sets of instructions, a memory device forstoring the one or more sets of instructions to be executed and astorage device coupled to the one or more processors; and theinstructions in the memory device in the computer causing the one ormore processors to: receive project variables from one or more users;store the project variables in the storage device; color code changesmade to the project variables; in real-time, determine deploymentcharacteristics of the cellular telephone sites based on current projectvariables; and provide the deployment characteristics to an outputdevice.

A further aspect of the invention provides a computer readable mediumhaving a set of computer instructions encoded thereon. The computerreadable medium includes the set of computer instructions beingoperative with a computer to: provide a user interface for enteringproject variables into a computer; color code changes that are made tothe variables; in real-time, determine cellular telephone sitedeployment characteristics based on current project variables; andprovide the deployment characteristics to an output device.

Yet a further aspect of the invention provides a system for trackingdeployment of cellular telephone network sites and providing real-timecharacteristic information about the deployment to one or more users.The system includes a plurality of computers interconnected in a networkfor use in tracking the deployment of the cellular telephone sites, theplurality of computers each having one or more processors, a memorydevice for storing one or more sets of instructions to be executed and astorage device coupled to the one or more processors, at least onecomputer being operative to execute the one or more sets ofinstructions; and the one or more sets of sets of instructions in thememory device in at least one computer causing the one or moreprocessors associated therewith to: receive project variables from oneor more users associated with one or more other computers coupled to thenetwork; store the project variables in a storage device associated withone or more computers coupled to the network; color code changes made tothe project variables; in real-time, determine deploymentcharacteristics of the cellular telephone sites based on current projectvariables; and provide the deployment characteristics to an outputdevice, the output device being coupled to the network.

Still a further aspect of the invention provides an apparatus fortracking deployment of cellular telephone network sites and providingreal-time characteristic information about the deployment to one or moreusers. The apparatus includes computing means for tracking thedeployment of the cellular telephone sites, the computing means havingone or more processors for executing one or more sets of instructions,memory means for storing the one or more sets of instructions to beexecuted and a storage means coupled to the one or more processors. Theinstructions in the memory means to be executed by the computing meansto: receive project variables from one or more users; store the projectvariables in the storage device; color code changes made to the projectvariables; in real-time, determine deployment characteristics of thecellular telephone sites based on current project variables; and providethe deployment characteristics to an output device.

Yet another aspect of the invention provides a system for trackingdeployment of cellular telephone network sites and providing real-timecharacteristic information about the deployment to one or more users.The system includes a plurality of computing means interconnected in anetwork for tracking the deployment of the cellular telephone sites, theplurality of computing means each having one or more processing means,memory means for storing one or more sets of instructions to be executedby the processing means and a storage means coupled to the one or moreprocessing means, at least one computing means being operative forexecuting the one or more sets of instructions. The one or more sets ofsets of instructions in the memory means in at least one computing meanscausing the one or more processing means associated therewith to:receive project variables from one or more users associated with one ormore other computers coupled to the network; store the project variablesin a storage device associated with one or more computers coupled to thenetwork; color code changes made to the project variables; in real-time,determine deployment characteristics of the cellular telephone sitesbased on current project variables; and provide the deploymentcharacteristics to an output device, the output device being coupled tothe network.

These and various other features of novelty as well as advantages thatcharacterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in theclaims annexed hereto and form a part hereof. However, for a betterunderstanding of the invention, reference should be made to the drawingswhich form a further part hereof, and to accompanying descriptivematter, in which there are illustrated and described specific examplesof the system, method and apparatus in accordance with the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers representcorresponding parts throughout, where:

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a computing system having one ormore computers in communication via a network to perform logicaloperations;

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a hardware environment of ageneral-purpose computer to perform the logical operations;

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow diagram;

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a distributed informationmanagement system;

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a diagram of a telecommunicationswitch;

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a distributed informationmanagement system;

FIG. 7A illustrates one embodiment of a representation of a call recordof a telecommunications system;

FIG. 7B illustrates one embodiment of an output display of a table;

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow diagram for monitoringand capturing telecommunication system data;

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow diagram forcommunicating and managing telecommunication system data;

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow diagram forprocessing court-ordered surveillance information;

FIG. 11A illustrates a related art system for processing court-orderedrequests;

FIG. 11B illustrates one embodiment of a system for processingcourt-ordered requests; and

FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow diagram for obtaininginformation associated with a telecommunication system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of the specific embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and whichshow by way of illustration the specific embodiments in which theinvention may be practiced. In the accompanying drawings, like referencenumbers represent corresponding parts throughout the several views. Itis to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized as structuralchanges may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

I. Distributed Information System for Data and Processes

The distributed information system for data and processes in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention includes one or more databases andprocesses, such as computer software programs, that share a commondatabase. In one embodiment, the distributed information system for dataand processes can utilize a structured query language (SQL) commondatabase for providing a distributed database management system. Forexample, a MICROSOFT SQL TM server can be used to provide a commondatabase function whereby a plurality of general-purpose computers incommunication with the SQL server can carry out the manipulation of datastored on the SQL server while the SQL server performs other operationsassociated with the distributed database management system. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the SQL server can be coupled toor be in communication with one or more storage devices for storing dataor computer software programs. In accordance with one embodiment of theinvention, any changes that are made to a particular set of data by theone or more computer software programs in one process, or by one or moreusers, are reflected into and are accessible by other computer softwareprograms within the distributed information system on a real-time basis.

Referring now to FIG. 1, where one embodiment of one set of componentsthat can be used to carry out the system, method and apparatus isillustrated in diagram form. In one embodiment, the system componentscomprising the distributed information system 10 include an applicationserver 12, a shared server 14, a database server 16, a general-purposecomputer 18 and a workstation 26. The application server 12 providesaccess to one or more computer software programs 20 stored therein orstored in a database 22 in communication with the application server 12.Further in one embodiment, the application server 12 is in communicationwith one or more other components of the other distributed informationsystem 10, such as the shared server 14, the database server 16, thegeneral-purpose computer 18 and the workstation 26, for example. The oneor more system components also can communicate with each other viawell-known communications hardware and software. Still further in oneembodiment, the one or more system components can be interconnected in anetwork 24 configuration in accordance with various well-known networktopologies. For example, the components of the distributed informationsystem 10 can be interconnected in a bus topology, ring topology, a startopology or combinations thereof. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that any one these network topologies, or combinationsthereof, can provide an adequate implementation of the system, methodand apparatus.

The general-purpose computer 18, the shared server 14, the databaseserver 16 and the workstation 26 can each execute the computer softwareprograms 20 stored in the application server 12 or programs that arestored in the database 22 depending on the specific implementation. Inone embodiment, the general-purpose computer 18 can perform the functionof the workstation 26 or other computing systems without departing fromthe scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the general-purpose computer 18 can be provided with variousperipherals in communication with or coupled thereto. For example, thegeneral-purpose computer 18 can be coupled to an optical disk drive 28for reading and writing instructions or data to be used by thegeneral-purpose computer 18. Moreover, a tape drive 30 can be coupled tothe general-purpose computer 18 for storing data and processes forbackup purposes, for example. In addition, a storage device 32, such asa floppy disk drive or hard disk drive can be coupled to thegeneral-purpose computer 18 for storing instructions and data to be usedby the general-purpose computer 18. Instructions and/or data can beprovided to the general-purpose computer 18 via a removable storagemedium 34. A communication device 36 such as a modem can also beprovided with the general-purpose computer 18 to serve variouscommunication purposes. Also, an output device 38, such as a printer, ora monitor 44, can be provided in communication with or coupled to thegeneral-purpose computer 18 for providing the user with reports and thelike.

In use, a user operating the general-purpose computer 18 sends a requestto access the one or more computer software programs 20 from theapplication server 12. Such computer software programs 20 can then bedelivered to the general-purpose computer 18, the shared server 14, thedatabase server 16 or the workstation 26 for execution thereon.Accordingly, any changes that are made by the user operating thegeneral-purpose computers 18 in communication with the network 24 to anyof the programs 20 or data residing within the databases 22 distributedthroughout the distributed information system 10, will be available andaccessible by the other system components and users. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate, that if more than one general-purpose computers18 are interconnected in a network 24, changes to the database 22 madeby one user operating one general-purpose computer will be available andaccessible to any other user operating any other general-purposecomputer 18 in communication with the network 24 on a real-time basis(e.g., substantially instantaneously).

One embodiment of a hardware environment of a general-purpose computer18, a distributed information system 10, a telecommunication switch anda switch-master, whereby the instructions of computer software program20 can be executed by, or interact with, are described below.Furthermore, specific embodiments of the computer software programs 20,such as program 20 for receiving and capturing call processing failuresand digital cellular switch failures, communicating and managingtelecommunication call records, processing court-ordered surveillancerequests, obtaining real-time information associated with a network andtracking the deployment of telecommunication network sites on areal-time basis also are described below.

II. General-Purpose Computer

Referring now to FIG. 2, one embodiment of a hardware environment of ageneral-purpose computer 18 provided for executing one or more computersoftware program 20 instructions is shown in diagram form. Thegeneral-purpose computer 18 can be, for example, an IBM-compatiblecomputer that operates under the control of a number of operatingsystems. For example, the general-purpose computer 18 may operate undera DOS, OS/2, WINDOWS, WINDOWS NT, UNIX, XENIX, LINUX or PICK operatingsystems, among others, that are generally well known to those skilled inthe art.

In one embodiment, the general-purpose computer 18 can include one ormore peripherals that are coupled to or are in communication with thegeneral-purpose computer 18. For example, the general-purpose computer18 can include several input devices such as a mouse 40 or a keyboard42. Furthermore, the general-purpose computer 18 can include severaloutput devices such as a monitor 44, a printer 38 or a plotter. Inaddition, the general-purpose computer 18 can include severalcommunication devices such as, for example, a modem 36.

The general-purpose computer 18 can also be adapted to be coupled to orin communication with one or more other general-purpose computersdistributed throughout the distributed information system 10. Forexample, the one or more general-purpose computers can be interconnectedor configured as a network 24. As discussed above, the network topologycan be a bus topology, a ring topology, a star topology or combinationsthereof without departing from the scope of the invention. Those skilledin the art will appreciate that any one of these network topologies, orcombinations thereof, can provide an adequate network implementation forthe system, method and apparatus. Still other peripherals may be coupledto the general-purpose computer 18 such as, for example, a storagedevice 32 such as a hard disk drive or floppy disk drive, an opticaldisk drive 28, a tape drive 30 and the like. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the above list of peripherals is not exhaustive andthat other peripherals may be utilized in conjunction with thegeneral-purpose computer 18 without departing from the scope of theinvention.

The general-purpose computer 18 also can include several othercomponents known generally to those skilled in the art as themotherboard, interfaces, adapters and controllers. For example, anetwork adapter 45 may be utilized to provide a communication means orto couple the general-purpose computer 18 to one or more othergeneral-purpose computers, one or more workstations, or more mainframecomputers or servers distributed throughout the distributed informationsystem 10. Also, a parallel interface 46 may be provided for couplingthe general-purpose computer 18 to various printers 38 and plotters.Furthermore, a serial interface 48 may be provided for interfacing acommunication device, such as a modem 36 to the general-purpose computer18. In addition, a video graphics adapter 50 may be utilized to couplethe general-purpose computer 18 to the monitor 44. Moreover, a storagedevice controller 52, e.g., a hard disk drive controller, a floppy diskdrive controller or an optical disk drive controller, may be utilizedfor controlling the hard disk/floppy disk drive 32, the optical diskdrive 28, and the like.

The motherboard of the general-purpose computer can include one or morecentral processing units 52 and one or more memory devices 54 forstoring the instructions of software programs to be executed by thecentral processing unit 52 for carrying out a particular algorithm orfunction. The one or more central processing units 52 may be custommanufactured for a specific application at hand, or may be selected froma wide variety of processors and controllers that are generallyavailable on the market and well known to those skilled in the art. Forexample, single chip or multi-chip processors manufactured by the INTELCORPORATION including the 8051, 80386, 80486, PENTIUM and PENTIUM PROfamily of processors can be used. In addition, single chip or multi-chipprocessors manufactured by the MOTOROLA CORPORATION including theMC68000 and MC68040 can be utilized. Further, various clones of theabove listed processors that are readily available on the market can beused. For example, processors manufactured by ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES(AMD), CIRYX, C&T and IBM can be readily adapted and utilized as thecentral processing unit 52 for the general-purpose computer 18.

The general-purpose computer 18 can also act as a workstation 26 whetherit be in a standalone configuration or interconnected in the network 24.In addition, workstations 26 requiring additional performance mayutilize reduced instruction set computing (RISC) architecture processorsand one or more SPARC central processing units 52 such as thosemanufactured by SPARC INTERNATIONAL, INC., SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC., thePOWER PC TM by MOTOROLA, the AMD 29000 TM, and the like.

Memory devices 54 such as random access memories (RAM), read onlymemories (ROM) and erasable programmable read only memories (EPROM) aregenerally used for storing the instructions of the software programs 20to be executed by the central processing unit 52 of the general-purposecomputer 18 for carrying out specific algorithms or functions. Thesememory devices 54 are well known to those skilled in the art and areavailable in a wide range of configurations and from a wide variety ofmanufacturers. Those skilled in the art will appreciate and recognizethat the above recitation of central processing units 52 and memorydevices 54 is not exhaustive and that others may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

III. Network Organized Repository of Data

Referring now to FIG. 3, where one embodiment of a logic flow diagram 19of a network organized repository of data is shown in logic diagramform. At logic block 21, one or more computer software programs 20 arestored in a shared database 22. At logic block 23, data are also storedin the shared database 22. At decision block 25, it is determinedwhether a user, a process or a computer has requested access to theprograms 20 or data that are stored in the shared database 22. If accessto the programs 20 is requested, at logic block 27 the user is permittedaccess to a selected program 20 stored in the shared database 22. Atdecision block 29, it is determined whether the user has modified theprogram 20. If the program has not been modified, the logic flow returnsto the previous process. However, if the selected program 20 is modifiedin any way, at logic block 31, any changes or modifications that aremade to the program 20 are reflected in the other programs 20 that arestored in the database 22. Furthermore, at logic block 33, the changesmade to the programs 20 stored in the database 22 are made available toevery other program on the distributed information system 10 on areal-time basis.

If, at logic block 25, access to data is requested, at block 35 the useris provided with access to the data stored in the database 22. If thedata are modified, as determined at block 37, at block 39 themodifications made to the requested data are reflected in all other datastored in the database 22. At block 41, the changes made to the datastored in the database are made available on the distributed informationsystem 10 on a real-time basis.

IV. Telecommunication Distributed Database Management System

Referring now to FIG. 4, where one embodiment of the distributedinformation system 10 is illustrated which can be utilized as part of atelecommunication distributed database management system 56. In oneembodiment, the general-purpose computer 18 can be in communication withone or more other general-purpose computers configured and adapted asthe database server 16 component of the telecommunication distributeddatabase management system 56. The database server 16 can be configuredas a distributed database management server for creating, maintainingand viewing database data. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat, in addition to the data, the database 22″ can also include one ormore computer software programs 20 therein.

In one embodiment, the database server 16 of the telecommunicationdistributed database management system 56 can utilize a structured querylanguage (SQL) database for creating, viewing and maintaining databasedata. MICROSOFT, ORACLE, GUPTA, INFORMIX, POWERSOFT, ORACLE and SYBASEcan all supply SQL databases, for example. Accordingly, the databaseserver 16 can implement an SQL database server such that one or moregeneral-purpose computers 18, workstations 26 or other servers canaccess and manipulate the data stored in the database 22″ that isaccessible by the database server 16. In addition, the database server16 can manage and coordinate the data stored in the database 22 whilealso performing calculations locally. For example, as discussed above,the database server 16 can be comprised of a general-purpose computer 18or workstation 26 that includes one or more central processing units 52for executing instructions according to one or more software programs 20and a memory 54 for storing such instructions. The database server 16also can be configured and adapted to perform additional functions andexecute additional algorithms in addition to manipulating data withinthe database 22″.

For example, in one embodiment, the database server 16 can executeinstructions of a software program 20 for carrying out tasks such asmanaging the storage and retrieval of database 22″ data, generatingreports, displaying data, transmitting data to one or more peripheraldevices such as printers 38, plotters, facsimiles, modems 36 and othersimilar devices. In addition, in one embodiment, the database server 16can execute instructions of one or more software programs 20 forcarrying out tasks such as transmitting database data or specificreports to one or more other general-purpose computers 18 orworkstations 26 that are in communication therewith.

Further, in one embodiment, the database server 16 can executeinstructions of one or more software programs 20 for carrying out taskssuch as communicating database 22″ data or reports to one or more othercomputer software programs 20 whose instructions are executed on othergeneral-purpose computers across the telecommunication distributeddatabase management system 56. In addition, the database server 16 canexecute instructions of one or more software programs 20 for carryingout tasks such as sending database data or reports to a network addressor electronic mail (e-mail) address in response to a query or inresponse to a predetermined set of conditions. Still further in oneembodiment, the database server 16, or for example any one of the one ormore general-purpose computers 18 in communication with the network 24,can execute instructions of a software program 20 for carrying out thefunction of broadcasting a wireless signal to be received by one or moreusers carrying a wireless device or to be received by other deviceshaving incorporated therein a device in response to a predetermined setof conditions. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that thewireless device can be, for example, a pager receiving a paging signal.Those skilled in the art will recognize that the above-enumerated tasksto be performed by the database server 16 can be performed by othercomponents within the telecommunication distributed database managementsystem 56. Also, such tasks are illustrative in nature are not intendedto limit the scope of the invention.

V. Telephone Switch

In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4, a telecommunication switch58 provides a communication path or circuit between a transmittingtelecommunication device and a receiving telecommunication device, andvice-versa. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that thetransmitting and receiving telecommunication devices include telephones(e.g., mobile or cellular) pagers or the like. The communication path orcircuit remains in place for the duration of the transaction between thetransmitting and the receiving devices. The switch 58 can processvarious signal types. For example, the switch can process voice (e.g.,digital and analog voice), data, text, images and the like. As describedherein, the telecommunication switch 58 can be associated with bothwireless and wireline telecommunication devices. Furthermore, in oneembodiment of, the telecommunication switch 58 can refer to anelectronic switching office that switches calls from a cellulartelephone to a wireline telephone or a digital cellular switch. Thetelecommunication switch 58 also can perform such tasks as controllingthe handoff of transactions between cells in a cellular network andmonitoring various transaction parameters. For example, thetelecommunication switch 58 can provide telephone usage, cell monitoringdata or transactional data, hereinafter referred to as call records 62,to various components of the telecommunication distributed databasemanagement system 56. The call records 62 are generated bytelecommunication devices, for example from cellular telephones owned bysubscribers 144. One embodiment of the telecommunication switch 58 alsocan include a storage device 60, for example it can include a tapedrive, a hard drive, a disk drive or optical drive for the local storageof various call records 62.

An electronic control processor 64 (ECP) can be provided within thesystem for controlling the telecommunication switch 58. The ECP 64 cancontrol the operation of one or more telecommunication switches 58servicing a particular geographic region. For example, each geographicregion near a major metropolitan area will generally have one or moreECP's 64 for controlling the operation of one or more telecommunicationswitches 58. In one embodiment, the data emerging from the ECP 62include AMA records. AMA records are automatic message accountingrecords, which is another name for call records.

Furthermore, the ECP 64 can be configured to send a feed out to aswitch-master 66 for clone detector fraud and at the same time, the ECP64 can send a feed out to the home office. In other words, the ECP 64can act as a gateway for directing where some of the call records 62,such as cell records, should go. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the call records 62 can be exported into one of theprograms 20 within the system 56, such as a spreadsheet, for additionalanalysis. Several different feeds also can be provided from the switch58 to the switch-master 66. For example, a billing feed 142 and a datafeed 143 can both be provided from the switch 58 to the switch-master66. Alternatively, the data feed 143 can provide information associatedwith telecommunication failure data to the central office without thebilling information. Feed data can be analyzed in various ways. Forexample, an analysis can be conducted with respect to how the ECP 64viewed a particular telecommunication failure and how the switch 58viewed the telecommunication failure, for example.

In a market using exclusively ERICSSON wireless technology and ERICSSONtelecommunication switches 58, for example, the data feed 143 can behandled differently. The ERICSSON implementation is generally providedwith a separate processor and a user back at the central office receivesvery little information. The majority of analysis will be performedbased on the billing records. As discussed above, one embodiment of atelecommunication switch 58 can be a digital cellular switch. In oneembodiment, the ECP 64 also can be coupled to the switch-master 66,which is discussed below.

VI. Switch-Master

In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the ECP 64 and/or theswitch 58 interfaces with the switch-master 66. The switch-master 66 isan electronic device that operates under the control of a UNIX operatingsystem, for example. Its function is to take a feed 145 coming from theECP 64 that the AMA is teleprocessing. In addition, thetelecommunication company's billing department uses the switch-master 66for collecting call records 62. Moreover, the switch-master 66 canprovide feeds 68 for detecting roamers 70, frauds 72 and other functions74. The switch-master 66 is generally contained within a building at aparticular telecommunication cell site. It is not part of themanufacturer's equipment, such as LUCENT, ERICSSON, nor is it part ofthe switch 58. The switch-master 66 is a self-contained electronicdevice that performs its own set of functions.

As discussed above, the switch-master 66 generally operates under thecontrol of the UNIX operating system and, generally, there is aswitch-master 66 for every switch 58 throughout a giventelecommunication system. The switch-master 66 is maintained by aspecial group and is generally used for billing purposes. For example,the switch-master 66 can be provided with a billing feed 76 used forsending billing information to the billing system of thetelecommunication system.

One embodiment of the switch-master 66 includes a storage device 78. Forexample, the switch-master can include a tape drive, a hard drive, adisk drive or an optical drive for local data storage. The switch 58corresponding to a specific switch-master 66 stores all of the switch's58 call records 62 on the switch-master's 66 own storage device 78.Periodically, every morning for example, the call records 62 stored inthe switch's 58 storage device 60 are transferred and stored into theswitch-master's 66 storage device 78. Accordingly, the entire billingcontained in the switch 58 is sent to the storage device 78 within theswitch-master 66 to be stored therein. One embodiment of the storagedevice 60 can be provided within the switch 58 itself, and accordingly,information stored in the storage device 60 can be provided to theswitch-master 66. Memory can also be provided within the switch 58 orthe switch-master 66 for temporarily storing the information prior totransferring it to a storage device (e.g., within the switch 58 orwithin the switch-master 66, depending on the direction in which theinformation is being transferred).

Turning now to FIG. 5, where one embodiment of a computer softwareprogram 20′ is illustrated which interacts with the switch-master 66 asfollows. The computer software program 20′ allows a user logged into thegeneral-purpose computer 18 to log into the switch-master 66 and executea script 80. The script 80, in turn, allows the user to access a file 82containing the call records 62 stored within the switch-master 66. Whenthe switch-master 66 receives a billing feed 76, for example a serialfeed, it dumps the call records 62 to the file 82. Generally, that file82 is given a name, such as “000413.13,” which represents the year, hourand day that the file 82 was created. Once these files 82 are generated,they can be compressed and the name of the file can subsequently bechanged. Once the information is written to the file 82, the script 80takes out the feed 76 and the file 82 is sent to the central office 77.In case there is a network failure, for example, a transmission controlprotocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) connection failure, during thetransfer, a pointer is stored within the switch-master 66 indicating thelast record that was sent.

One embodiment of a computer software program (e.g., DD_RUN, to bediscussed in more detail below) constantly looks for such systemfailures. Accordingly, if a failure occurs, the software program 20provides instructions to the general-purpose computer 18 to shut downall processes and then restore them. Therefore, when the user logs inand executes the script 80, the script 80 is able to determine the lastcall record 62 that was sent prior to the interruption in thecommunication channel and will send the next call record 62 on the list.

In the event of a shutdown or loss in communication, there is always thepossibility of actually losing some call records 62. If such a failureoccurs, several call records 62, up to 200 for example, may actually belost. Although the likelihood of losing a large number of call records62 is remote, the system 56 provides the ability for determining who thecalling party was and to see how they were being billed and resolve thesituation. The system 56 can recreate more than 99% of the call records62 and the billing records in case of a loss in communication duringtransmission.

VII. Computer Software Programs

A. Capturing and Processing Call Processing Failures Occurring at aTelephone Switch Control Processor and Call Processing FailuresOccurring at a Digital Cellular Switch

Referring now to FIG. 6, where one embodiment of a system 56 forcapturing and processing call processing failures occurring at atelephone switch control processor 64 and at a digital cellular switch58 is shown in diagram form. The instructions of one or more computersoftware programs 20 (e.g., child applications 92) are executed on ageneral-purpose computer 18 for carrying out the function of capturingand processing the telephone call processing failure data collected atthe switch 58 on a real-time basis (e.g., substantially instantaneouslyas the failures occur). In one embodiment, the instructions of the oneor more software programs 20 can be executed on a general-purposecomputer 18 for carrying out the function of analyzing the captured dataand presenting the data to one more users that are logged into thenetwork 24. In addition, the data can be presented in various userdefinable ways.

In one embodiment, the electronic control processor 64 (ECP) is incommunication with or coupled to one or more digital cellular switches58 (DCS). The ECP 64 and the DCSs 58 are located at a cell site 86located in a given geographic region. For example, in the state ofFlorida there may be a cell site 88 located in West Palm Beach, a cellsite 88 in Ft. Lauderdale, and so on. The ECP 64 is in communicationwith the switch-master 66. Physically, the switch-master 66 may belocated remotely from the site 86 or may be contained in proximity ofthe ECP 64, within the same building for example. The ECP 64 is also incommunication with the general-purpose computer 18 executing theinstructions of one or more computer software programs 20 therein. Forexample, the instructions of a client computer software program 94 maybe executing in the general-purpose computer 18 in conjunction with theinstructions of a master computer software program 90 on the workstation26. In addition, the instructions of one or more child computer softwareprograms 92 may also be executing in the general-purpose computer 18 inorder to continually capture and process call processing failure dataoccurring either at the ECP side 92 or at the DCS side 94 of a givencell site 86, 88 within a telecommunication system.

In one embodiment, the general-purpose computer 18 is in communicationwith one or more SQL servers 16 of the type described above. The one ormore SQL servers 16 also can be in communication with thegeneral-purpose computer 18 configured and adapted to act as theworkstation 26. Accordingly, the workstation 26 also can be incommunication with the application server 12. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the one or more SQL servers 16, the general-purposecomputer 18 and the application server 12 can be interconnected in thenetwork 24.

In one embodiment, instructions of the client software program 94 can beexecuted in conjunction with several prerequisites in order to perform agiven function. For example, the general-purpose computer 18 can executethe instructions of three distinct software programs simultaneously: amaster software program 90 (hereinafter m_cpfail), the master's childsoftware programs 92 (hereinafter s_cpfail) and the client softwareprogram 94 (hereinafter c_cpfail).

One embodiment of the instructions of the master software program 90 canbe executed to perform the function of monitoring the execution of theinstructions of the child software programs 92, assuring that failuredata is continually received from the operations and maintenanceplatform (OMP processor), performing paging functions and maintainingdata and logging administrating functions. The instructions of the childsoftware programs 92 can be executed to carry out the function ofestablishing communication links to each OMP location, (e.g., by way ofTCP/IP), filtering the received data and providing any predeterminedfields to the SQL server 16, for later processing.

One embodiment of the instructions of one child software program 92 canbe executed to collect failure data from each OMP location. Theinstructions of the client software program 94 can then be executed tocarry out the function of displaying the data that were collected invarious formats as predefined by the one or more users logged into thenetwork 24. For example, the display format can include a graphicaloutput format. Of the three software programs 90, 92, 94 whoseinstructions are executing, the client software program 94 is accessibleto the one or more users. The instructions of the software programs 90,92, however, are executed on a stand-alone basis and are generally notaccessible to the users. For example, in one embodiment, theinstructions associated with software programs 90, 92 can be executed ona stand-alone WINDOWS NT workstation 26 having administration privilegesconfigured not intended for general use.

One embodiment of the ECP 64 that controls multiple switches 58 can beadapted to receive information from the switch-master 66. Further in oneembodiment, the ECP 64 also can monitor any call processing failurerecords. Accordingly, a telecommunication system performance managementteam member, or system user at the central office, is able to view thefailure data messages occurring at the ECP 64 on a real-time basis. Forexample, in implementations using a switch 58 manufactured by the LUCENTCOMPANY, a feed 96 can be established between the ECP 64 and thegeneral-purpose computer 18. The call processing failure records, andvarious other types of messages depending on the configuration of theECP 64, are then sent to a specific port 98. The port 98 can be adaptedin order to capture and receive the call processing failure records andthen transmit the failure data messages to the general-purpose computer18 that the user is logged into. Certain portions of the failure datamessages and other information can then be stored into specific tables100 102 having fields 100 in the SQL database server 16, for example.

In operation, the user operating the general-purpose computer 18 at thecentral office points to and clicks on an icon on the display device 44representative of the application server 12 and thereby executes theinstructions of a software program 20 for carrying out the function ofestablishing a communication connection 93 between the general-purposecomputer 18 and the SQL database server 16, and retrieving specificinformation requested by the user on a real-time basis. The user thenestablishes a communication connection 97 between the general-purposecomputer 18 and the ECP 64. Once the communication connection has beenestablished with the ECP 64, the user can retrieve the call processingfailure messages from either the ECP 64 or the DCS 58.

The physical location of the ECP 64 may vary without departing from thescope of the invention. In general, the ECP 64 can reside within thesame building in which the cellular switch 58 resides. The total numberof cellular switches 58 that are located at a particular location 86, 88will vary depending upon the telephone call traffic for the particulargeographic region 86, 88 in which the switches 58 are located. Forexample, some regions may have three or more switches 58 within the samebuilding or the switches 58 may be spread out in separate buildingsthroughout the geographic region 86, 88. For each switch 58 there can beprovided separate output ports 104. For example, instructions of thechild software program 92 can be executed for carrying out the functionof receiving and capturing information from each separate switch port104. Accordingly, there can be provided separate output ports 104 foreach individual switch 58 handling a particular geographic region 86,88.

In one embodiment, the operation of the cell site can be made to beautomatic. For example, instructions of a computer software program 20can be executed for carrying out the function of collecting the dataportion of the cell while the instructions of the child software program92 can be executed to provide that child 92 with enough intelligence tomonitor its execution and to ensure that it continues collecting failuredata messages from the ECP 64 or the DCS 58, depending on the specificimplementation used.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that more than one databaseserver 16 can be utilized without departing from the scope of theinvention. For example, two or more separate database servers 16 can bedeployed, one serving a first set of computer software programs, thesecond serving another set of computer software programs, and so on.Having a multi-database server configuration is advantageous in case theoperation of the first database server 16 fails. In the event of suchfailure, the second (or nth) database server 16′ can be utilized toperform data collection until the operation of the first database server16 is restored. In other words, the second database server 16′ can actas a back up to the first data base server 16. It will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that this concept can be extended to include aplurality of database servers working in conjunction and acting asbackups for each other. The act of switching the operation between onedatabase server and another can be performed either manually orautomatically.

Turning now to FIG. 8, where one embodiment of a logic flow diagram 106for capturing and processing call processing failure data messagesoccurring at a telephone switch control processor 64 and occurring at adigital cellular switch 58 is shown in diagram form. At block 108instructions associated with the master software program 90 areexecuted. At block 110 instructions associated with the child program 92are executed. At block 112, instructions associated the client program94 are executed. Once the instructions for the master program 90, thechild program 92 and the client program 94 are executed, at block 114,the master program 90 begins monitoring the execution of the childsoftware program 92 and the client software program 94. Theseinstructions execute concurrently.

Once the instructions associated with the child program 92 beginexecuting at block 110, the child software program 92 establishescommunication links between the general-purpose computer 18 and one ormore OMP sites at block 116. At decision block 118, it is determinedwhether the child software program 92 is to receive call processingfailures from the ECP 64 or from the DCS 58. If the call processingfailure records are to be received from the ECP 64, at block 120, thechild software program 92 executes instructions for continuallycapturing call processing failure records from the OMP site at thetelecommunication switch control processor ECP 64 on a real-time basis.If it is determined that the call processing failure records are to bereceived from the DCS 58 side, the child software program 92 executesinstructions for continually capturing call processing failure recordsfrom the OMP sites at a digital cellular switch DCS 58 on a real-timebasis at block 122.

While the child software program 92 continually captures call processingfailure records at blocks 120, 122, the master software program 90, atblock 128, ensures that the call processing failure records arecontinually received. Meanwhile, the child software program 92, uponcontinually capturing the call processing failure records, filters thecaptured data at block 124 and at block 126 stores the filtered captureddata to a storage device 22 that is in communication with thegeneral-purpose computer 18.

Meanwhile, the master software program 90, at block 130, monitors thecaptured data and looks for a predetermined set of conditions within thefailure data messages. At decision block 132, the master softwareprogram 90 continuously checks if the predetermined condition hasoccurred. If the predetermined condition has occurred, at block 134, themaster program 90 executes instructions that ultimately result inbroadcasting a signal to a wireless telecommunication device. At block136, the master program continuously maintains call processing failurerecords and also logs any administration data to the data storage device22″ coupled to the data base server 16.

The client computer software program 94, which is the only computersoftware program available to a user, can receive user-definedinstructions for how to format the captured data at block 138. Once theuser has determined the particular format for outputting the failuredata messages, at block 140, the client program 94 provides the captureddata messages to an output device coupled to the general-purposecomputer 18 in accordance with the user's formatting instructions.

In one embodiment, the computer software program 20 provides severaloptions and features. As described above, at block 134 of logic flowdiagram 106, the software program has the ability to alert users of theoccurrence of certain events based on various predetermined thresholdsby automatically executing instructions for broadcasting, for example, apaging signal to one or more wireless paging devices. Thresholds can beset up to be dependent on time of day, call volume, the number of callfailure data messages captured and the like. In a further example, oneor more users may want to receive a paging signals in the event aparticular cell site reaches a predetermined number of failure datamessages of a particular type. In one embodiment, the users arepermitted to specify the various threshold levels to be monitored. Forexample, one user may want to be paged if 50 failures occurred at 2:00am. Another user may not want to be paged if less than 50 failures occurat 12:00 noon. Still another user may program the system to receive apage if 5,000 failures occur at 12:00 noon and if 50 failures occur at12:00 midnight. Accordingly, the system provides means for allowing theone or more users to customize the individual threshold settings tosatisfy their individual needs.

In one embodiment, the failure data message analysis is performed on areal-time basis. For example, the information received and captured atthe ECP 64 or DCS 58 side of the telecommunication system is updated anddisplayed on a continuous basis by the general-purpose computer 18operating in conjunction with the other network 24 components such asthe database server 16, and the like. There exist a variety of methodsthat can be employed for analyzing the call failure data messages. Forexample, in one embodiment, the analysis can be performed on the basisof the specific hour, cell site, phase or radio (cellular telephone). Inone embodiment, when the user first executes the software program theuser is initially provided with data on an hourly basis and the user canthen change these settings to ones that better suit.

Furthermore, the one or more users can be equipped with two or moregeneral-purpose computers 18 at the central office that are incommunication with the network 24. For example, a number of users canhave two or more general-purpose computers 18 at their desk whereby oneof the computers can be configured to have a specific screen open at alltimes, while the other computer can be configured to have a differentscreen open at all times. For example, one screen may be displayed suchthat the user can see, in real-time, how many call failures haveoccurred throughout the telecommunication system. These failure typescan be displayed at the top of the screen. The user can then click onthe heading in order to see what those failure types actually are. Thelost calls, which are calls that were actually lost, are then displayedat the bottom of the screen.

To obtain additional information with regards to the call failures, theuser can type, for example, “raw” in the command line and the softwareprogram will display all of the actual call failures. Furthermore, theuser can sort the call failures based on various fields. For example,the user can sort the call failures based on directory number. The usercan look at the output block to see if there exist any patterns anddetermine whether they are associated with a particular number. If apattern emerges the user will see something stand out right away. Theuser also can sort the cell failure types by cellular telephone number.For example, if one particular cellular telephone number has a problem,the user will have the ability to view the raw record of the callfailures associated with that particular cellular telephone number on areal-time basis.

The call processing failure records can be broken down even further. Forexample, the call processing failure records can be broken downaccording to every single failure that occurs. Furthermore, the callprocessing failure records can be broken down into current (Amperage),for analog telephones, or time division multiple access (TDMA), for thedigital telephones. The call processing failure records also can bebroken down and viewed on an hourly basis or they can be broken down andviewed on the basis of the specific cell. For example, if a particularcell has had either a lot of traffic or has a large number of failuresassociated therewith, for example 976 failures recorded in one day, theuser more than likely will go in to view the raw data in order todetermine the cause of the failure at that cell or try and determinewhether a failure pattern exists for that cell. If the processingfailure records are broken down and analyzed in terms of cellulartelephone numbers, the user is then able to determine the worse cellulartelephone in the entire telecommunication system.

Some processing failure records exhibit failure patterns that are easierto spot than others. For example, if there are problems with thetelephone, an entire page may be filled with the same telephone numberand that pattern will stand out and be readily apparent to the user.Upon detecting a certain failure pattern, the user will generallyattempt to contact that particular subscriber 144 and work out theproblem. Other failures, for example, could be caused by the telephoneitself or the telephone may actually be turned off. Sometimes, thesubscriber 144 may be in the middle of a telephone call, and for variousreasons, the telephone will be powered off or the battery will go deadin the middle of the call. These are seen by the system 56 as failuresmerely because the call was terminated, however, the subscriber 144generally knows when these situations arise and the issues can bereadily worked out.

One embodiment of the software program 20 can be configured such that itreports the worst failure that occurs in the telecommunication systemand the type of failure that occurred in the system when the softwareprogram is first invoked by the user. As illustrated at block 138 oflogic flow diagram 106, the user has the ability to filter the outputbased on any single failure type. In addition to viewing the data, theuser can also print the data.

In one embodiment, the user can invoke a software program 20 and executeinstructions associated therewith for querying the database 22. Forexample, the user can query the database 22 based on a specific failuretype or run a query based on a specific directory number. In accordancewith the specific query, the system responds by showing the user thenumber of telephone call failures. For example, the output canillustrate that a particular telephone number queried had multiplefailures, e.g., 128 because midnight. Accordingly, the user can readilydeduce that something has gone wrong with that particular cellulartelephone. In another example, the database can be queried based on thetype of cellular telephone and call failures can be retrieved anddisplayed accordingly. Furthermore, the user can query the database 22based on a variety of other failures, for example, hand-off failuresbetween cell sites. As discussed above, the user has the option ofviewing the failure reports in a number of canned report formats, whichare provided by the system 56.

In one embodiment, the user has the option of executing instructions forrunning a “glare.” Glare means that there are two identicaltelecommunication devices trying to be used at the same time. This isgenerally an indication that something has gone wrong. The user has theoption of executing instructions for running a glare in accordance withtrunk group, serial number or numbered history. The user also can outputa report based on the cell number. For example, a cell report for cellnumber 8 will provide the user with every failure that occurred withincell number 8. The reports can be outputted to the display and caninclude the directory number, when it failed, what the failure was, theserial number, the cell and DCS, station class mark, what type of a callit was, trunk group member number, which cellular telephone it was on,whether it was answered, whether there are any call backs and so on.

Furthermore, the user can output a report based on a directory numberand retrieve records as far as, for example, 90 days in the past. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the number of days can be presetbased on the available memory on the server 16 or in the database 22,and should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. Theuser also can use the backlog from a directory number. For example, if asubscriber 144 called the central office because of a problem they wereexperiencing on their line, the user will proceed to query the database22 and make a determination as to whether there had been any failures onthat particular line on that day.

Generally, users have three tools that they rely on for troubleshooting,namely, the graphical output, the investigation screen and the pagingsignal broadcast output. Thus, the user has the capability of graphingthe call processing failure records and generating an output in the formof a graph. Furthermore, the investigation screen provides the user withthe capability of setting up various thresholds and thereby broadcastinga paging signal to a remote wireless paging device based on apredetermined, user selectable 100 condition. Such paging broadcasts aretracked by the system 56 and an investigation number is tagged to thebroadcast. Accordingly, the person or wireless telecommunication devicethat was signaled can call back into the central office, specify theinvestigation number and the user will be able to show them all of thefailures that are associated with that specific investigation number.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any identifiers such as aninvestigation number, a cell name and the like may be tagged to thepaging signal broadcast for reference purposes.

There are other screens that can be viewed by the user on the outputdevice. For example, the user can view a threshold screen where thethresholds can be viewed and specified. Such thresholds can be weighedbased on the title and date, and other thresholds can be based on thevarious failures that can occur. The user also can apply system averagesthat can be tracked. Accordingly, if the user knows that, on average,there are 400 lost calls in the middle of the day and 300 at eleveno'clock, for example, the user can enter these values in the thresholdscreen and automatically have the system 56 generate what the thresholdlevel should be. The system 56 also provides a paging screen that allowsthe user to specify who the individuals to be paged are, what theirnumbers are, and the like. In addition, the system 56 can be providedwith functionality that allows the user to broadcast a paging signal toa digital pager. Moreover, the broadcast signal can page an InternetProtocol Suite (IPS) pager where the user can send an electronic mail(e-mail) address and perform additional paging functions. The messagesare received via a TCP/IP communications link to the OMP processor. Themessages are then stored on the SQL server 16 after being parsed.

B. Communicating and Managing Telephone Call Records

Referring now to FIG. 9, where one embodiment of a logic flow diagram146 is illustrated in diagram form. The logic flow diagram 146 includesa series of steps representing instructions to be executed by ageneral-purpose computer 18. Beginning at block 148, from atelecommunication device such as a wireless telephone located at aremote site, one or more digits dialed by the telecommunication devicethat are associated with a call record 62 are transmitted from theremote site on a real-time basis. At block 150, a telecommunicationswitch 58 receives the one or more transmitted dial digits in real-time.At block 152, the transmitted one or more dial digits received by theswitch 58 are transmitted to the general-purpose computer 18 located ata local site in real-time.

Upon receiving the one or more dial digits, the general-purpose computer18 determines whether to analyze the dial digits in accordance with theuser's instructions at block 154. If the general-purpose computer 18 hasbeen programmed to analyze the dial digits, at block 156, the telephonedial digits are parsed and at block 158 a report is generated inaccordance with a predetermined criteria as programmed by the user. If adetermination is made at block 154 not to analyze the dial digits atthat time, the one or more dial digits are stored in the database 22coupled to the general-purpose computer 18.

Referring back to FIG. 4, where one embodiment of a system 56 forcommunicating and managing telephone call records is illustrated inblock diagram form. In one embodiment, the general-purpose computer 18,for the purpose of communicating and managing telephone call records 62,executes instructions of one or more computer software programs 20. Thetelephone call records 62 can be the actual telephone billing records.In one embodiment, the one or more computer software programs 20 allowthe user to query the call records 62 stored in the database 22 based onseveral variables such as the telecommunication device number (e.g.,cellular), any particular digits that were dialed by thetelecommunication device or the serial number of the telecommunicationdevice.

The switch-master 66 is in communication with the switch 58 by way of abilling feed communication link 142. In one embodiment, the billing feedcommunication link 142 can be a landline or can be a wirelineconnection. The switch-master 66 also is in communication with a firstgeneral-purpose computer 18. One embodiment of the switch-master 66 andthe general-purpose computer 18 can be arranged in a network 24, such asa local area network (LAN) configuration. The general-purpose computer18 also is in communication with the database server 16, such as acomputer having an SQL server, which in turn is in communication with asecond general-purpose computer adapted and configured as a workstation26.

The first general-purpose computer 18 is configured to executeinstructions of one or more computer software programs 20. For example,the general-purpose computer 18 can execute instructions according to afirst software program (“NTSTART” hereinafter) for carrying out thefunction of resetting various memory or storage tables 100 available onthe network 24 to a known state. The NTSTART software program theninitiates the execution of instructions according to a second softwareprogram (“DD_RUN” hereinafter) for carrying out the function of checkingthe status of any child software program 92 and for looping throughvarious hosts. In addition the DD_RUN software program can check thesanity of the overall system 56 and on a real-time basis the status ofthe system 56 based on the switch 58 type. For example, if the switch 58is a LUCENT switch, DD_RUN checks the system 56 status approximatelyevery 15 minutes. If the switch 58 is an ERICSSON switch, DD_RUN checksthe system 56 status approximately every 60 minutes. In addition, theDD_RUN software program initiates the execution of instructionsaccording to two more other software programs (“DD_ALL” and “DD_ALLE”hereinafter).

The general-purpose computer 18 also executes instructions according toanother software program (“DD_MON” hereinafter) for carrying out thefunction of providing real-time summaries, including the real-timesummary of the last call record 62 or the last activity performed on thesystem 58, the number of records and the number of records inserted inthe database 22 per second or per hour. Further, the general-purposecomputer 18 executes another set of instructions according to a softwareprogram (“DD_QRY” hereinafter) for carrying out the function ofproviding a user interface and a subscriber's 144 telecommunicationdevice number, telecommunication device serial number and the number ofdigits dialed by the telecommunication device (“dialed digits”hereinafter). The DD_QRY software program also provides various reportsand has the capability of exporting data to other computer softwareprograms executing on the system 56.

As discussed above, other instructions that are executed by thegeneral-purpose computer 18 include DD_ALL and DD_ALLE, which are usedto establish a communication session between a network 24 component anda telecommunication system component. For example, these instructions,when executed, can establish a TCP/IP communication session between thegeneral-purpose computer 18 and the switch 58. Further, theseinstructions also can parse the call records 62 and provide the callrecords 62 to the database server 16.

Further, one or more computer software programs 20 can be provided forcarrying out the function of communicating and managingtelecommunication call records 62 from the subscriber 144 on a real-timebasis. By real-time, it is meant that the user at the central office canaccess the telecommunication call records 62 from the subscriber 144 assoon as, or substantially instantaneously after, the subscriber 144hangs up or terminates the telecommunication transaction with the switch58. For example, generally within 10-15 seconds from when the subscriber144 hangs up, the call records 62 become available for the user toreview. Moreover, computer software programs 20 can be provided forcarrying out the function of maintaining the telephone call records 62in the database 22 over an extended period. For example, more than400,000,000 telephone call records 62, representing about 10 weeks worthof telephone call records 62, can be stored by the system 56 in thedatabase 22.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the user, or users, of thesystem 56 and computer software programs 20 include various people fromvarious departments for manipulating telecommunication call records 62of a telecommunication company or may include various people associatedwith a telecommunication company. For example, there are computerprograms 20 that are useful to users from a fraud department of atelecommunication company for manipulating call records 62 in order todetect any sort of fraud being committed by the subscriber 144. Onereason the fraud department finds the call records 62 useful is becausecertain dialing patterns can be associated with an act of fraud. Forexample, a call record 62 showing that the subscriber 144 within thesame cell site has called “time of day” and has repeatedly hung up assoon as the call was answered can be an indication of someone trying toclone the telecommunication device used to make the call to time of day.Whenever these types of calls occur at a higher the frequency there is ahigher the likelihood that the caller was attempting to clone thetelecommunication device and thereby committing an act of fraud.

Users from an engineering department associated with a telecommunicationcompany may find the one or more computer software programs 20 to beuseful. For example, the engineering users are provided with the abilityto see not only what digits a subscriber 144 has dialed, but also to seewhat digits were actually pulsed out by the switch 58. For theengineering users, the computer software programs 20 for communicatingand managing call records 62 provide a good troubleshooting tool.

The engineering users also can use the one or more computer softwareprograms 20 as a billing validation tool when a bill is received fromthe telephone company. For example, without the one or more softwareprograms 20, there is virtually no way to confirm the actual minutes ofusage from zone office trunks. In a telecommunication system, the zoneoffice trunks are the trunks where the cellular telephone ties into thetelephone system. The one or more software programs for communicatingand managing telephone call records 62 provide the engineering userswith a means for validating a particular bill.

Users from a telecommunication system performance evaluation departmentalso may find the one or more computer software programs 20 to beuseful. For example, the system performance evaluation users can utilizethe software programs 20 to determine the calls that were dropped by thesystem 56. They also can determine which site actually dropped the call.Furthermore, in some geographic regions, for example in South Florida,the system performance evaluation users are provided with a specialtelephone line, for example a *888 line, that employees of thetelecommunication company can use. If an employee drops a call or has aproblem with a call, they can dial *888 and leave a voicemail messageregarding what the problem was. When the user checks the call records 62the following morning, they can pull the records of the individual user,look for the *888 call, backup one call from that point and they have attheir disposal a variety of information about the telephone that failed.

A market research user associated with a telecommunication company alsomay find the one or more computer software programs 20 to be useful.Market research users can use the one or more computer software programs20 to conduct certain marketing related studies. For example, one suchstudy uses a special telephone line, for example a *123 line, which is areal-time traffic report line installed in a specific geographic region.The market research users can, for example, advertise the *123 number byusing billboards or other methods of advertising. The market researchusers can then run a study of the number of people that actually dialthe *123 number within the region before and after the number wasadvertised and thereby measure the effectiveness of the advertising inthat region. For example, the marketing users can determine if there wasan increase in the number of calls made to *123 after the advertisementwas put in place.

Users from a technical support department of a telecommunication companyalso may find the one or more computer software programs 20 to beuseful. For example, the technical support users can rely on the one ormore computer software programs 20 for troubleshooting purposes.Subscribers 144 may call into the central office and complain, forexample, that they cannot dial out. What the one or more softwareprograms 20 allows the user to do is to find out if the subscriber 144has an invalid serial number, what digits the subscriber 144 is dialingand what digits the switch 58 is actually sending out to theswitch-master 66.

Furthermore, the technical support users can use the software programs20 for subscribers 144 that question the validity of their bill. Forexample, the subscriber 144 may call the central office in order to getcredit for a number of telephone calls that had been dropped throughoutthe week. The one or more software programs 20 can provide the technicalsupport users with a tool that allows them to go back and review howmany calls were actually dropped during the week in question. Generally,if only two or three calls are seen as actually having been dropped, thetechnical support user may have grounds upon which to challenge thesubscriber's 144 claim.

Users from a security department of a telecommunication company also mayfind the one or more computer software programs 20 to be useful. Thesecurity users can use the one or more software programs 20 when theywork in conjunction with a government agency, for example, forprocessing court-ordered requests for call records 62 (described indetail below) and for detecting fraud within the company itself.

Users from a “911” department of a telecommunication company also mayfind the one or more computer software programs 20 to be useful. Forexample, the “911” group of users can use the one or more computersoftware programs 20 in order to validate which numbers were actuallydialed out by the subscriber's telecommunication device or where thetelecommunication company is connecting the subscriber 144 upon dialing“911.”

In one embodiment, the switch 58 is in communication with theswitch-master 66. As discussed above, the switch-master 66 is anelectronic device that operates, generally, under the control of theUNIX operating system. The telecommunication company's billingdepartment for collecting call records 62 uses the switch-master 66.From the switch-master 66 there also can be provided a feed 68 fortracking roamers 70, fraudulent activity 72 and other functions 74.

In one embodiment, there is provided a network 24 by way of a Local AreaNetwork 24 (LAN) connection 145 from the switch-master 66 to thegeneral-purpose computer 18 that enables the user to log into an accountwithin the switch-master 66 and then execute a script 80 such that allof the billing records can be supplied back to the central office 77.Accordingly, the LAN connection 145 acts as a billing feed 145 that isin essence being routed back to the central office 77.

Within the switch-master 66, the script 80 is provided with enoughintelligence that if the LAN connection 145 fails (e.g., falls off) theuser knows the last call record 62 that was sent to the central office77. Accordingly, in the event of a LAN connection failure there isvirtually no loss of call records 62. In practice, the central office 77collects about 99% of the call records 62 after a LAN failure, which isadequate for the intended purpose.

A server 16 can be connected to the system via the LAN. For example,there can be provided a database server 16 in communication with thenetwork 24. For example, there can be provided an SQL server of the typediscussed above. One embodiment of the LAN connection can be providedwith an SQL database of the type manufactured by the MICROSOFT COMPANY,for example. Further, the general-purpose computer 18 can be incommunication with the database server 16 over the LAN. For example, thegeneral-purpose computer 18 can be dedicated to performing the specificfunctions.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate, however, that the instructionsof the software programs 20 to be executed by the general-purposecomputer 18 also can be executed by the database server 16. In oneembodiment, the database server 16, for processing efficiency reasons,can execute the instructions of the software programs 20. The databaseserver 16 can execute the instructions faster than the general-purposecomputer 18. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in oneembodiment, the system 56 can collect, for example, up to five millioncall records 62 per day.

One embodiment of general-purpose computer 18 can execute theinstructions of a client software program 94 for carrying out thefunction of collecting call records 62 data. Accordingly, the clientsoftware program 94 for collecting such data automatically establishesthe LAN connection 145 to the switch-master 66 and, in one embodiment,also can automatically log the general-purpose computer 18 into theswitch-master 66. There can be provided enough intelligence in theswitch-master 66 such that the switch-master requests a password changefrom a particular account attempting to access it. In turn, theswitch-master 66 will recognize the password change transaction,generate a password and store it in a table 100 for future use. Thesystem 56 maintains the current and any previous passwords.

There is also another computer software program 20 whose instructionscan be executed by the general-purpose computer 18 (“DD_ALL”hereinafter). Such software program also can connect into theswitch-master 66 automatically. There are other software programs 20that are part of a suite of software programs whose instructions carryout the function of monitoring the execution of the other softwareprograms 20. One instance of such instructions is executed for everyswitch 58 that is in the telecommunication system. For example, if aparticular region requires three switches 58, there will be threeinstances of instructions of such a software program executed by thegeneral-purpose computer 18. There also can be other instances ofinstructions of the software program for monitoring other locations,such as the master software program 90. Accordingly, if five locationswere being monitored, then there could be a total of five instances ofinstructions of such software programs being executed by thegeneral-purpose computer 18.

The master software program 90 monitors all instances of a softwareprogram that is currently executing on the system 56. The mastersoftware program 90 ensures that each instance is currently executing,that they are receiving call records 62 on a real-time basis and thatthere are no problems. If the master software program 90 detects that,for some reason, any one of the currently executing instances has aproblem, or if it detects that the LAN connection 145 is down, themaster software program 90 will stop the execution (e.g., close) ofevery instance of the software programs currently executing and it willthen continually try to reinitiate the session.

In one embodiment, there can be provided a computer software program 20whose instructions are executed to initialize the general-purposecomputer 18. For example, if the general-purpose computer 18 reboots forany reason, the instructions of the initialization software programfirst executes instructions associated with the start software program(“NT_START” hereinafter), which resets all the tables 100 and places allmemory variables into a known state. NT_START then turns control over toDD_RUN which, in turn, executes instructions associated with all theother software programs 20.

In one embodiment, there can be provided a computer software program 20for monitoring the other software programs whose instructions are beingexecuted. In one example, the monitoring software program is a masterprogram 90 that can be executed on workstation 26, the server 16 or anygeneral-purpose computer 18 connected to the network 24. The mastersoftware program 92 provides the functionality for allowing the user tosee what the status is of all the other software programs 20 that areexecuting. For example, the user can monitor the last call record 62that was received, the last time stamp that was received and how manyminutes difference there are between the receipt of the last all record62 and the current time and it provides the user with this informationon a in real-time basis.

The software programs 20 discussed above can use, for example, aMICROSOFT SQL server for manipulating data stored in the database 22.However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other servers ordatabase servers may be utilized without departing from the scope of theinvention. The server storage device can be partitioned with about 120or 125 Giga Bytes of storage in accordance with the needs of the currentimplementation, which will generally depend upon the telecommunicationmarket or geographic region being served. Furthermore, there are manystored computer software programs and data administration processes thattake place within the database server 16. One embodiment of the databaseserver 16 operates on a standalone basis and does not require anoperator to watch it. For example, if the database server 16 runs intoany problem that it cannot resolve on its own, it will broadcast apaging signal or send an electronic mail (e-mail) message to the user orother authorized person.

One embodiment of the computer software programs 20 also can performadditional procedures. For example, the software programs 20 can performdatabase cleanup and maintenance. Furthermore, because telephone callrecords 62 are being kept for extended periods, for example, 10 to 13weeks worth of information is kept, the software programs 20 also cantake the oldest call records 62 and remove them from the database 22. Inother words, instead of saving the oldest call records 62, they areremoved from the database 22 and the database 22 is maintained on arolling 10 to 13 week basis depending on user-selectable 100 options.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the general-purposecomputer 18, the workstation 26, the shared server 14 or any othercomputer that is in communication with the database 22 may execute theabove cleanup and maintenance software programs.

There are other functions that can be performed by any one of thecomputers in communication with the database 22. For example, softwareprogram instructions for carrying out the function of accessing tables100 stored within the database 22 can be executed in the background,while a wireless paging signal is broadcast to a user after theoccurrence of certain predetermined conditions, for example how farbehind the system 56 is running. There can be embedded in the pagingsignal information regarding how far behind the process is running, thusmaking it possible for the user to investigate the problem. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the user can perform virtuallyany function from a remote location that the user is able to performwhile directly operating the general-purpose computer 18. For example,the user can take an IPS pager and instruct the device to performcertain functions from a remote location. However, it should be notedthat the database server 16 generally attempts to fix any failures thatare encountered by it. If the database server 16 cannot repair thefailure, it will broadcast a wireless paging signal or send an e-mailmessage to the user.

In one embodiment, two different types of telephone call records 62 arebeing collected depending on the particular switch 58 being used. Forexample, if the LUCENT (AT&T) switch is being served, 26 fields ofbilling data are collected. If the ERICSSON switch is being served, then62 fields of data are collected. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that LUCENT and ERICSSON are manufacturers of telephoneswitches 58. The scope of the invention, however, should not be limitedto the operation of the specific switches 58 provided as examplesherein.

Also, data collection from each switch type can vary based on the datathat are deemed necessary. For example, from the ERICSSON switch everyfield that is outputted by the switch 58 is collected. On the otherhand, from the LUCENT switch only the fields that are deemed to benecessary are collected. There are certain fields that are notcollected.

The types of fields that are collected include, for example, theoriginating number of the telecommunication device, the number called bythe telecommunication device, voice channel seizure time, voice channelseizure date, the duration of the call, the cell location of the call,the facilities that the call went on and any features that thesubscriber 144 may have used. In addition, there is a considerableamount of failure data (discussed above) that is collected from thesystem 56. Furthermore, there are fields that identify whether the callwas an international call and whether the call was answered on the otherend. It will appreciated that this list of fields is not exhaustive andthe invention is not intended to be limited in scope thereto.

In one embodiment, several layers of network 24 security can beprovided. For example, a first security layer can be provided when auser actually dials into the network 24, accesses a general-purposecomputer 18 and logs into the network 24. Once the user has logged intothe network 24, the user can execute instructions associated with alimited number of software programs 20 residing on the network 24. Withfew exceptions, the user will generally execute instructions associatedwith the software programs 20 on the network 24 in “read only” mode.However, if the software program 20 is of the type that would yieldsensitive information, another security layer can be provided to preventthe user from accessing the sensitive software program even in read onlymode. If the user does request access into the system 56 a separateaccount can be established for the user within the database server 16.Once the account is established, upon executing the instructions, thesystem administrator will know the user's identity and the location fromwhich the user logged in. Accordingly, if the user matches anypredetermined values set in a stored table 100, they will be givenaccess into the system 56.

In one embodiment, the user generally performs three different types ofsearches. For example, the user can search by mobile telecommunicationdevice number, by telecommunication device serial number or by theparticular digits dialed by the telecommunication device. Because manyfields are collected by the system 56 there are additional reports thatcan be provided for the user on a manual basis. However, in order toprovide such functionality, there is an element of caution that must beexercised. For example, if a user attempts to perform a nonexistentfunction or a function that is not indexed in the database 22, the querymay take forever to perform and may very well bog down the rest of thesystem 56. Searching and access speed are aspects to be taken intoconsideration because of the large quantity of searchable records thatare stored within in the database 22.

In one embodiment, the user is forced to look at the current date andthen, by way of option buttons, the user can look, for example, at thecurrent day, the current week, two weeks back, four weeks back, and soon. The user also has the option of selecting a particular date.

Following is a description of the computer process steps from the timethe subscriber 144, or caller, hangs up or terminates atelecommunication transaction. Also described will be one method ofparsing the call records 62 into fields comprising the call records 62as received by the switch 58. Furthermore, several representativecomputer software programs and their operation will be described.

1. Process Steps from the Time a Subscriber (Caller) Hangs Up

Once the subscriber 144 hangs up, for example terminates atelecommunication transaction, the system 56 collects the call record 62for that particular call. The call record 62 is then sent to theswitch-master 66. The switch-master 66 sends the call record 62 to theDD_ALL software program (discussed above) in the general-purposecomputer 18 for further processing. The DD_ALL software program carriesout instructions for receiving the raw call record 62 from thesubscriber telecommunication device and passes the information withinthe call record 62. Once the instructions associated with the DD_ALL areexecuted it continuously executes instructions and waits for the callrecords 62 to be received by the switch-master 66.

In one embodiment, there are provided two different ways of receivingthe call records 62. For example, in the LUCENT switch, the call records62 are always obtained in real-time. In other words, as soon as thatsubscriber 144 hangs up or terminates a telecommunication transaction,that call record 62 is made available to the switch-master 66, it issent to the general-purpose computer 18 and it is parsed by thegeneral-purpose computer 18 and it is then sent to the server 16 forfurther manipulation or storage in the database 22. In the ERICSSONswitch, the call record 62 is not actually obtained by the switch inreal-time as is the case for the LUCENT switch. Rather, the call records62 are sent directly to a buffer, which is filled with the incoming callrecords 62. Once the buffer becomes full, all of the records 62 in thebuffer are sent to the general-purpose computer 18 for parsing and arethen sent to the server 16 at one time. In one embodiment, the callrecords 62 can be sent at predetermined time intervals instead of whenthe buffer is full. For example, regardless of the status of the buffer,the call records 62 can be sent to the general-purpose computer 18 every15 minutes or so. Therefore, depending on the specific set-up, the callrecords 62 can be sent to the server 16 approximately 15 minutes or morebehind real-time as they are retrieved from the ERICSSON switch. It isto be understood that this is a limitation of the functionality of theparticular switch 58 being employed and is not a limitation of thesoftware program. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should not belimited thereby.

Once the call records 62 have been received by the switch-master 66 andparsed by the general-purpose computer 18, they are sent to the server16 and they are stored in a database 22 storage device, which is incommunication with the server 16. In one embodiment, the call records 62are stored in several different tables 100 for access speed purposes.For example, there can be provided an hourly table 100 in which callrecords 62 are stored, which are obtained during the peak periods of theday. Furthermore, there can be provided special tables 100 set-up forthe evening, nights and so on. In a further example, the call records 62can be inserted into weekly tables 100 for access speed purposes. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that in order to insert call records62 into the database 22 efficiently, the smaller the table 100 thequicker the task can be accomplished. In one embodiment, the searchesand all the stored computer software programs that the user can access,are provided with enough intelligence to know whether they have tosearch the various records tables 100. For example, whether they have tosearch through the hourly records, the weekly records and so on. Thatinformation is also stored in a storage device in communication with theserver 16.

2. Parsing the Call Record Fields

Referring now to FIG. 7A, where one embodiment of an example of a rawcall record 62 is shown. It will appreciated by those skilled in the artthat the various fields comprising the call records 62 can be parsed inaccordance with the switch 58 manufacturer's specifications. Forexample, the switch 58 manufacturer can provide documentationillustrating what the actual raw call record 62 should look like. Forillustration purposes, the call record 62 will be described byreferencing the individual characters 162 and their relative position164. For example, the first character position 166 is where the parsingprocess begins. Accordingly, the parsing process continues character bycharacter sequentially through the call record 62 at positions 168, 170,172 and so forth.

The call records 62 are received by the switch-master 66 in sequentialorder on a continuous basis. In one embodiment, the parsing process willbegin at a predetermined field 166 of the call record 62 and will firstdetermine the beginning or the starting point of the raw call record 62.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the software program mayobtain the necessary information required for parsing a call record 62from a file accessible by any one of the network 24 components.Accordingly, the starting point may be defined as a character “0” thatbegins at position 166. In one embodiment, there is a table 100 storedwithin the server that defines where the initial position is located.For example, the starting point may be defined as position five 168 ofthe call record 62. Furthermore, position ten 170 of the call record 62may be defined as being the starting point for the area code of a mobiletelephone number. Moreover, the table 100 may further provide that theposition 15 of the call record 172 is in excess of the user's NPA and soon. Accordingly, once one full call record 62 is parsed, the parsingprocess will begin searching for the starting point of the next callrecord 62. From that point on, the parsing process knows that regardlessof the call record 62 presented to the general-purpose computer 18, itwill merely add five to the starting position and retrieve the NPA andthe parsing process is repeated for all the remaining call records 62.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the definitions of thespecific call records 62 can vary depending on the switch manufacturer.For example, the ERICSSON switch call records can have a differentdefinition than a LUCENT record and, accordingly, there may existseveral definitional tables 100 that describe the various records. Thetable 100 structures can be different for each switch manufacturer'scall records 62 format and this information is sent to the server 16.

FIG. 7B illustrates one embodiment of an output display of a table shownwhen the user executes or runs a particular query. Accordingly, the usersees a grid 174 or a matrix within the display 44 output screen. Withinthe grid 174 the user sees the various information illustrated. Forexample, there can be a call type 176 or there can be an NPA 178, thedialed number (NXX) 180, the failure type 182, the initial cell site 184that the call originated from, and the like. As illustrated in FIG. 7B,the user will actually see one or more particular call records 62. Thesoftware program then takes this one step further and color-codes thegrid 172 so that the user can look at it and at a glance will be able todetermine which call records 62 are incoming records, which call records62 are outgoing records, which call records 62 are tandem records, whichcall records 62 are slave records and so on. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the user can access the call records 62 by clickingon any one of the records identifiers on the grid 174 displayed on thescreen. Accordingly, the selected call record 62 is expanded and shownin a more detailed form. The more detailed form of the cell record 62can show, for example, the call type 176 rather than the dialed numberNXX 180, the originating call or the terminated call. The system cantake many of the call records 62 fields and parse them into text thatthe user can read.

For example, there may be a field for the failure type 182 having anumber four within the call record 62 field. Because the number fourdoes not reveal much information about the failure type 182, the usercan expand the field associated with the failure type 182. A failuretype such as that a call was dropped will appear on the grid 174.Further, if one of the fields for the initial cell 184 is displayed,this may tell the user that the call was originated from cell A, forexample. The software program provides an additional button for the userto click on for expanding that information and return to the maindatabase 22. From there, the user is provided with information aboutthat particular cell. For example, the user is provided with informationabout where the cell is located, its latitude, its longitude and itsaddress. Furthermore, the user can be provided with information aboutwhat phase on the cell the call was placed on. Moreover, the user can beprovided with the path through the switch 58 and what hardware was usedduring the call. The software program is thus a useful troubleshootingtool for the user.

For example, slave records are used in the LUCENT switch implementation.Slave records are created if there is more than one switch 58 from whichthe subscriber 144 originates a telecommunications transaction.Accordingly, a master call record is created for that transaction. Forexample, as the subscriber 144 drives on a highway, their cellulartransaction will be handed off from one switch 58 to another switch 58′0as the subscriber 144 travels across cell boundaries. Accordingly, aslave call record 62 is created within the other switch 58′. In general,the billing department normally discards the slave record. However, inone embodiment, the slave record can be maintained in a storage deviceassociated with the database 22, which is in communication with thenetwork 24 or server 16. In general, the slave records can be keptbecause each one provides information such as the identity of thetelecommunication device, the first cell site from which the transactionoriginated and the last site from which the transaction terminated.Therefore, the user knows the site from where the subscriber 144initiated the cellular transaction and the site from where thesubscriber 144 terminated the transaction. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that a slave record exists for each new switch 58 that thesubscriber 144 is handed off to as he or she drives on.

The billing department may use the slave record in billing if they arepart of a different entity and there is an agreement in place betweenthe owners of the different switches 58, 58′. Accordingly, there is anow a means of billing back for how many minutes a call was on the otherswitch 58′ and so on.

3. Representative Computer Software Program Applications

In one embodiment, there can be a plurality of instructions associatedwith a plurality of software programs executing in VISUAL BASIC Version5 or 6 throughout the system 56, for example. The general-purposecomputer 18 initially executes the instructions of a software program(“DB_LIDE hereinafter) in order to carry out the function ofestablishing a communication connection between the general-purposecomputer 18 and the server 16. The instructions are provided in nativecode of the general-purpose computer 18 directly to the server 16. TheDB_LIDE program does not go through an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)and provides an efficient way of accessing the server 16.

The general-purpose computer 18 executes instructions associated with asoftware program (“NTSTART” hereinafter) when the general-purposecomputer 18 is initially booted up for carrying out the function ofresetting all tables and memory variables to a known state and thenbeginning the execution of instructions associated with another softwareprogram, DD_RUN, for example. The tables 100 are predefined and there isa special table 100 that tells the NTSTART program what to expect atvarious fields and where within a call record 62 the fields are located.This is done in the event a new field is added or if a field is mergedor contained within another field. If such an event occurs, rather thanediting the software program instructions code, only the table 100 needsto be modified and the change will automatically be picked up.

The DD_RUN software program initially looks at a table 100 and thendetermines what the status is of each child software program 92 that isexecuting. When the system is initially booted, DD_RUN sets every childsoftware program 92 to an out of service state. After it checks thestatus of the child software programs 92, the DD_RUN software programexecutes a loop through a table 100 and for every software program thatis out of service it will execute instructions associated with theDD_ALL program or the DD_ALL_E program. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the basic difference between the DD_ALL and DD_ALL_Eprograms is that one is utilized for a LUCENT switch implementation andthe other is utilized for an ERICSSON switch implementation.Accordingly, certain functionality within the two software programs canbe different. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that thesesoftware programs are described as examples of one embodiment of theinvention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of theinvention.

The DD_ALL and DD_ALL_E programs can, however, share some tables 100.For example, they can share employee tables 100, status tables 100 andthey can write to certain common status tables 100. Although theinformation written to the tables 100 by each program may be somewhatdifferent, these example programs write information to the status table100 at approximately 30-second intervals. That is one way of determininghow far behind real-time the actual program is running. For example,that is how the DD_RUN program knows whether or not all the otherprograms are executing instructions in a proper way. The DD_ALL and theDD_ALL_E programs also set a sanity bit. For example, these programswrite a known number to a table 100 and then constantly increment thatnumber. The current program looks at the numbers knowing what theprevious number was. If the number has not changed, the program suspectsthat something went wrong and will begin watching it more frequently. Ifthe number stops changing, the program will shut down or interrupt theexecution of instructions associated with the current program.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that it does not matter whetherthe shut down request comes from DD_ALL or DD_ALL_E. For example, aspecific table 100 can be initiated by the program and within that table100 certain information can be stored therein such as the host switch58, the server 16 and one or more sanity bits for monitoring purposes.There may be one or more host switches 58. For example, oneswitch-master 66′ may be called by one name, and another switch-master66′ may be called by another name. Accordingly, about every 30 secondsthe current program checks and monitors the status of the table 100. Itsfunction is to ensure that everything is executing properly.

The DD_RUN program continuously checks to determine if the sanity bitsare constantly changing. The checks let the user know that the childsoftware programs 92 are actually executing instructions and writinginformation to the tables 100. The DD_RUN program also looks at all thestatus fields. If they are all active, the program continues execution.If it detects that one of the child software programs 92 is marked outof service, the DD_RUN program will find out because it will know whatthe host switch 58 is and what the name of the child software program 92is. The user can select which software program instructions to execute.It knows what to expect and it will send a command such as “DD_ALL.EXENAME ONE,” to initiate the execution. Accordingly, the program knowswhen it boots up that this is what it will be connecting to. Again, thisprocess is repeated, for example, about every 30 seconds. Those skilledin the art will appreciate that if the DD_ALL and the DD_ALL_E programsshut themselves down, they will mark the table 100 out of service priorto doing so. Accordingly, as DD_RUN loops about every 30 seconds or so,it checks the sanity bits and status of these software programs on areal-time basis.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that because there are separateparallel feeds 142, 142′ provided from the LUCENT switch 58 and theERICSSON switch 58′ there are generally no conflicts or simultaneousdata transmission errors or collisions that can occur. For example, ifthe subscriber 144 generates a call record 62 at a 10:05 a.m. at theLUCENT switch 58 and at the same time the ERICSSON switch 58′ sends acall record at 10:05 a.m., there are no conflicts because the server 16runs multiple processors, for example the server 16 runs four parallelprocessors, and it is fast enough to distinguish the two events.Furthermore, the information received from the switches 58, 58′ getsbuffered and every call record 62 is marked with a specific time stamp.Therefore, if two switches 58, 58′ located in the same region send callrecords 62 to the same switch-master 66 and onto the system 56substantially simultaneously no data collisions will generally occur. Iftwo subscribers 144 from two separate switches 58, 58′ terminatetransactions at the same time, both call records 62 will be sent to acommon switch-master 66 and the switch-master 66 will send the callrecords 62 to the system 56. The call records 62 may be provided in adifferent time sequence, for example, one record may arrive at time 0.1and one may arrive at time 0.12, but the information will not be lost.

Accordingly, as both call records 62 arrive at the system 56, one ofthem may get recorded as record number two followed by record numberone, even if there is a time difference of three minutes between the tworecords 62. In one embodiment, the tables 100 are built by indexing theentries sequentially according to the time stamp given to the callrecord 62. Therefore, even though a subsequent record is received threeminutes later than a previous record, it will be inserted in the table100 in the order in which it was time stamped. Accordingly, the earliertime stamped call record 62 will be the first call record entered intothe table 100. Furthermore, there is enough intelligence provided withinthe network 24 between the server 16 and the switch-master 66 andbetween the executive control processors (ECP) 64 that there generallywill not be a collision of two call records 62.

As the DD_RUN program continually checks the sanity status, the system56 performs a real-time status. Accordingly, as the instructions for thevarious software programs begin executing, there are certaininitialization files for the system 56 to consider. For example, onesuch file is the dialed digits file (“DIGITS.INI” hereinafter). TheDIGITS.INI file defines the server 16 location and, in essence, thesystem 56 can monitor and execute instructions associated with one ormore programs 20 from one location to multiple database servers 16 suchas SQL servers. The DIGITS.INI file can generally define the server 16location and how long to wait for the sanity failures. In oneembodiment, for example in the LUCENT switch, the sanity check waitperiod is set to 15 minutes. Accordingly, if the system 56 does notreceive any call records 62 within 15 minutes, it will shut itself downand reboot. The system 56 will assume that connectivity was lost or thatsomething else went wrong. The sanity check wait period value can beset, for example, for a worst-case scenario. In some implementations,the worst case may be to get one call every five minutes or every 15minutes. Accordingly, the sanity check wait period value can be set abit higher than the worst-case scenario, in case the worst-case scenarioactually happens.

A variety of reasons exist why call records 62 are not received by thesystem 56. For example, there may be a problem with the switch-master 66or perhaps the switch-master 66 may be running a batch process and thesystem 56 is low on the overall priority list. For example in theERICSSON switch implementation, the sanity check period is set for 60minutes. One reason for setting the sanity check period to 60 minutes isbecause the ERICSSON call records 62, as discussed above, are notreceived by the switch-master 66 on a continuous basis, but rather, theyare buffered and are sent either when the buffer is full or within abouta 15 minute period. Those skilled in the art will appreciate, however,that the call records 62 do not have to be sent every 15 minutes and canbe sent approximately every 30 minutes depending on the specificimplementation. Nevertheless, if the sanity check period expires, thesystem 56 will shut down and reboot.

There is another software program whose instructions can be executed bythe server 16. This software program checks the status table 100approximately every few minutes. If the process notices that the sanityperiod has expired and that the system 56 has rebooted, it will executeinstructions to broadcast an IPS paging signal to a wirelesstelecommunication device, send an e-mail message to the user, and sendthe user a network message at the specific network station that the useris logged into. One reason for this implementation is that,theoretically, one could shut down one software program, bring it backup and fifteen minutes later shut it back down again and bring it backup and so forth. This is a good indication that the link between theserver 16 and the LAN is down, that the link between the server 16 andthe switch-master 66 is down or that perhaps the link between the switch58 and the switch-master 66 is down. Accordingly, sending a notificationby way of a paging signal, e-mail or network message whenever a rebootcondition exists will alert the user that something has gone wrong inthe system 56.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any data received betweenthe shutdown and restart periods are buffered within the switch-master66 buffers 174, 174′. Whenever the system is shut down the switch-master66 knows that the general software program is shut down. This occursbecause the LAN connection may have been dropped and the TCP/IP sessionmay have been dropped. Accordingly, the switch-master 66 knows that itno longer has a place to send its information and maintains a pointer tocontinuously buffer the incoming call records. As soon as a connectionis reestablished and the user logs in, the system sends a script to theswitch-master 66 to send call records 62 and the process restarts rightwhere it had left off.

There is also an additional field that can be set. For example, the usermay not want to go through the cycling process because it is alreadyknown that a major catastrophic failure has occurred in the system 56and the user does not want to tie up traffic. Accordingly, the user canset a specific field that tells the software program to ignore a hostswitch 58. Therefore, if it sees that it is out of service, it simplyignores the host switch 58 and does not honor the request.

The DD_MON software program provides the user with a real-time summaryof system 56 activities. It also provides the user with a number of callrecords 62 that are currently stored in the system 56 database 22. TheDD_MON program shows the user the number of call records 62 that wereinserted into the database 22 per second. At a glance, it can show theuser all of the child programs 92 that are executing and other processesthat are executing. It also provides to the user a time stamp of thelast call record 62 and when the child program 92 actually made theentry. For example, by looking at every time the child program 92 writesto the table 100, it writes not only what the current time is but italso writes what the current call record 62 is. Therefore, by glancingat the table output grid 100, 174′, the user can tell whether thecurrent time is recent or whether it is actually writing to the table100. Furthermore, the user can tell how far behind the system 56 is inparsing call records 62 and how many call records 62 it is processingper second or per hour based on current activity.

If a software program is executing behind schedule, the data receivedfrom the switch-master 66 will be buffered in buffers 174, 174′. Forexample, between the switch-master 66 and the server 16, the programscommunicate with each other while they send call records 62.Accordingly, if the information is arriving too quickly the server 16will talk to the switch-master 66 and slow down the information transferrate by storing the call records 62 in the switch-master buffer 174.Once the buffer 174 is full, a signal is sent back by the switch-master66 requesting that the switch 58 stop sending call records 62 until theserver 16 finishes processing the current call records 62. Generally,the system 56 falls behind because either the call records 62 beingcollected are behind schedule or because the system 56 has been shutdown, and after it has resumed operation, the system 56 is trying tocatch up on all the call records 62. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that in some instances, the server 16 can actually processover a million records an hour. However, a normal transfer rate isroughly four to five million records per day. The system 56 willgenerally not receive that kind of volume all the time unless the system56 is trying to catch up from a prior shut down condition.

Because the example four or five million records can be spread out, forexample, over a 24 hour period, if one of the software programs 20, forexample the switch-master program 90, has a problem and the system 56 isnot receiving call records 62, the call records 62 are stored in theswitch 58 itself because the switch-master 66 instructs the switch 58 tohold up and not to send any more call records 62. It may take, forexample, a day before the whole problem is resolved. Therefore, once thesystem 56 is re-started, it could be 24 hours behind schedule and itwill then attempt to send call records 62 from the switch-master 66 tothe server 16 as fast as it can in order to catch up with the callrecords 62 transfer process.

When the user initially executes the DD_MON program, the user willgenerally receive a message of the day. The message of the day informsthe user of how far behind in real-time processing the system 56 isrunning on each switch 58. In addition, the message informs the userwhether the system is going to be available or if there is an upcomingevent.

Another program whose instructions are executing is called DD_QRY. Thisprogram provides the user interface to the system 56. Accordingly,DD_QRY allows the user to query the database 22 on the basis of a devicenumber, serial number or dialed digits. For any queries beyond thoselisted above, the system 56 generates a report for the user, but theuser will generally not be given access to the report because ofperformance issues. There are several reports that are automaticallygenerated on a monthly or a weekly basis that are useful to some users.For example, the market research user may wish to receive a monthlyreport in order to keep track of how well the real-time traffic programfeatures are actually working. For example, the system can provide themarket research group with information such as how many people aredialing a particular number such as 611 for customer service. Inaddition to the number of people that called a particular number, thesystem 56 also can provide additional reports such as how long thesubscriber 144 stayed on the line. Also, reports can be provided for howlong the telephone rang before it was answered. Furthermore, otherreports also can be provided. For example, on a weekly basis a reportcan be generated showing who called 611, how long the telephone rang andhow many seconds elapsed before the telephone was answered and once thetelephone was answered, how long the callers were kept on the phone.

The data that provided for the reports are generated from the callrecords 62. Therefore, in the above example, the system can request allcall records 62 showing that the subscriber 144 dialed 611. Once thesystem 56 has obtained the call records 62, the report breaks down therecords 62, adds them together and summarizes them. The system 56 alsocan provide a list of all calls that experienced a particular failure ata particular site. This can be done, for example, through a programbased on the billing record or it can be done through a program thatactually looks at telephone call record 62 failure data from the switch58 from a different feed.

The DD_QRY program also allows the user to generate reports. There arecanned reports that show only the fields that would be of interest tomost users, such as the type of call, the telecommunication deviceidentity, numbers dialed, the cell the telecommunication device was in,the time stamp, the duration of the transaction and the like.Furthermore, the program also can take the particular report and theduration, and increment it to the next minute. The user can thusretrieve billing information and know what the interval of that specificbill was. Also, the user can input or specify the start of the reportand the end of the report and determine whether the number of minutesthat is shown is approximately the same as what is indicated on thebill. Accordingly, the user can use the DD_QRY application as avalidation tool for the bills.

As discussed above, two other programs that also may be executing in thesystem are DD_ALL and DD_ALL_E. These programs generally establish aTCP/IP communication session, log onto the host switch 58, request callrecords 62, parse the call records 62 and provide them to the server 16.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the server 16 where thecall records 62 are provided does not have to be located locally. Forexample, the call records 62 can be stored remotely and can be retrievedfrom across the network and then they can be stored locally on theserver 16.

As another example, the DD_QRY program can provide the user with theoption of querying the database 22 based on various fields such as, forexample, a table 100 field called “market” or “host.” The market fieldprovides the user with the location of specific markets and thegeographic region served by the market. The host field includes a numberrepresentative of the particular host switch 58. If the user has thehost switch 58 number, the user may execute the query based on thespecific host. Accordingly, the software program will provide all of therecords that correspond to the specific market or host.

In one embodiment, the initialization file provides the user with themarkets to present to the output device, and it also provides the userwith information on which server 16 they reside on. Certain marketslocated in particular cities may reside on a server 16 that services aspecific region. All the PCS markets of one city, for example, mayreside on the server 16 located in another city. Accordingly, once theserver 16 in a different city comes online, the program will transferall the call records 62 from one city to be stored in the server 16located in another city. For example, if a request comes from Orlando,the program will transfer the telephone call records 62 from a SouthFlorida server 16 to an Orlando server. In order to provide the previousregion with access to the same call records 62, the user can select theinitialization file and will be provided with instructions as to how toaccess a server in a different city, for example a server located inTampa, in order to retrieve those call records 62. Accordingly, the usercan access the call records 62 from a server 16 that may be located indifferent regions throughout the country without noticing any differencein performance.

One embodiment of the software program provides the ability to exportthe call records 62 for use by other general-purpose computer softwareprograms. For example, the program can provide the ability to export thecall records 62 for use by a spreadsheet, such as MICROSOFT EXCEL.

In one embodiment, there are provided a number of tables 100 that arereserved for security purposes. The system knows what the individualuser's rights are, for example, whether they have user rights oradministrative rights. The system 56 is also capable of providingreal-time telecommunication transactions at the various cell sitelocations. Accordingly, the user can determine how many transactionsoriginated from a particular cell. As discussed above, the DD_RUNprogram also provides a summary of this information in terms of database22 inserts per second or database 22 inserts per hour. This informationcan be provided for a combination of switches 58 or on a per switch 58basis and the user can generally determine which switch is the heaviestone in use at the time.

In addition, there are about 20 or more scheduled tasks or programswhose instructions are executed on the server 16 for carrying out thefunction of cleaning up data used for monitoring status. These tasksexecute weekly maintenance and daily maintenance routines, which includeinserting records from one table 100 into another table 100. The weeklymaintenance includes dropping the previous week, waiting and rotatingthe tables 100. It also provides summary information, keeps track of howmany call records 62 are stored in the server 16, how many call records62 are in each table 100, how many people have actually used theprogram, who has used the program and so on. It is not intended that theinvention be limited in scope to the tasks enumerated above. Otherfunctions that can be performed by the system 56 including functionsthat execute instructions for ensuring that database 22 indexes areproperly built. If any of those functions fail, the system 56 sends apaging signal, an e-mail message or other similar warning signal to theuser.

C. Surveillance System for Call Records Requested through Court Orders

The surveillance system for call records requested through court ordersallows the user to send specially formatted electronic mail (e-mail)message to a predetermined account configured for receivingcourt-ordered call records surveillance activation information. Atscheduled intervals (generally once per day) court-ordered call recordssurveillance requests are collected from a distributed databasemanagement system 56. The requests are then sent by way of facsimiletransmission to a predetermined account at an agency for handling thecall records 62 associated with the court-ordered requests. Copies ofthe call record 62 requested by the court order can also be sent by wayof facsimile transmission or can be sent by way of e-mail to theoriginating party (“originator” hereinafter) of the court-orderedrequest. The originator of the court-ordered request could be, forexample, a telecommunication company. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the call records 62 requested through court orders canbe sent by way of e-mail and can be provided in a spreadsheet format.For example, such requests can be provided in a MICROSOFT EXELspreadsheet format, or other well-known spreadsheet programs.

Turning now to FIG. 10, where one embodiment of a logic flow diagram ofa method for managing call records 62 requested through court orders isshown in diagram form. The logic flow diagram 186 of a method formanaging call records 62 requested through court orders begins at block188 whereby at predetermined intervals one or more call records 62 areidentified in a call record database 22. At block 190, once identifiedfrom the call records database 62, the call records 62 identified by thecourt-ordered request are retrieved. At decision block 192, it isdetermined whether the call records 62 requested are to be transmittedto a predetermined account. If the call records 62 are to be transmittedto a predetermined account, at decision block 194 it is determinedwhether the court-ordered call records 62 are to be transmitted by wayof e-mail message or facsimile. At block 196 if the court-ordered callrecords 62 identified in the call records database 22 are to betransmitted by way of e-mail, the e-mail message is formatted. At block198, the formatted e-mail message is transmitted to the predeterminedaccount such that the predetermined account receives the court-orderedcall records 62 on a real-time basis. At block 200, the e-mail messageis automatically sent to the originator of the court-ordered request forcall records 62. If at decision block 194 it is determined that thecourt-ordered call records 62 are to be transmitted by way of facsimile,at block 202, the facsimile is formatted and at block 204 a copy of theformatted facsimile is transmitted to the originator of thecourt-ordered request for call records 62.

As illustrated in FIG. 11B, one embodiment of the system 206 formanaging call records 62 requested through court orders generally sendsall records 62 associated with active court-ordered requests. It alsocan check the start and stop dates of specific court orders prior tosending the call records 62. At block 208 a request to activate certaincall records 62 through court order is received from the switch 58. Oncethe request to activate certain call records 62 is received, at block210 the system generates and formats an e-mail message and a facsimile.The e-mail message and the facsimile are then transmitted to theoriginator of the court-ordered request, for example. Once the e-mailand facsimile have been transmitted, at block 212 the system 206activates the change in the call records 62 database 22 and beginsretrieving call records 62 that have been requested by way of courtorder. Previously this was done by manually inputting the messages intothe switch on a daily basis. For example, a switch engineer wouldrequest the records daily and manually process the records by way offacsimile transmission to the government agency.

The user has the capability of sending a specially formatted message toa predetermined account, which is then automatically sent by way ofe-mail to the originator of the court-ordered request for call records62. Mobile telephone call records 62 that are to be processed inaccordance with court-ordered requests can be maintained by the system56 for a predetermined period. For example, such call records 62 can bemaintained beyond the normal storage interval generally provided by thedistributed database management system 56. The court-ordered request forcall records 62 surveillance system 206 can utilize the distributeddatabase management system 56 for retrieving the call records 62 and theserver 16 for processing and forwarding the required call records 62 tothe predetermined account and to the originator.

For example, the system 206 can use a MICROSOFT SQL server for such apurpose. The automated court-ordered call records 62 surveillance system206 provides automated distribution of landline, wireline and mobiletelecommunication call records 62 that are requested by way of courtorders. In one embodiment, the court-ordered call records 62surveillance system 206 utilizes computer software programs and tasksthat execute on a MICROSOFT SQL server. Those skilled in the art willappreciate, however, that equivalent database servers 16 can be utilizedwithout departing from the scope of the invention.

In one embodiment, a means for communicating with the surveillancesystem 206 includes communicating by way of formatted e-mail messages.Described below is one embodiment of a system, method and apparatus foradding, changing or deleting a call record 62 associated with acourt-ordered request along with an explanation of one example of thetables 100 and computer software programs for implementing the function.

In use, telephone call records are retrieved from the switch 58. Thedistributed database management system 56 maintains the call records 62in a protected location to prevent the call records 62 from beingdeleted during normal database 22 maintenance. Call records 62associated with active court orders are generally sent by way offacsimile transmission on a daily basis to the government agency thatrequested the call records 62. Failed facsimile transmissions can beresent periodically as defined by the user. For example, periods may beset as, for example, hour-long up to a specified time such as, forexample, noon. A status report can be sent twice daily to theindividuals responsible for requesting call records 62 requested by wayof court orders detailing which court orders are active and whether ornot the call records 62 were successfully transmitted to the appropriategovernment agency.

1. Adding Court Order Activation

In order to add a court order activation identified as “YBTEST” to thesystem 56, the court-ordered call records 62 surveillance system 206sends a formatted e-mail addressed to a predefined e-mail account. Insome regional markets, for example the Florida markets, the followinginformation can be provided and sent as a formatted e-mail message:

TO: FL,NETENG

SUBJECT: COS

MESSAGE: ADD COS “c”, “f”, “a”, “s”, “st”,npa,nxx, “r”, “cp”

where

c=court order number

f=Field Office

a=agency

s=start date

st=stop date

npa=area code

nxx=mobile number

r-email address or fax number of recipient

cp=email address or fax number of person to copy

In order to activate the court order “YBTEST” for mobile telephonenumber 561-555-1212 having the following parameters: (1) valid date fromDec. 01, 1999 to Dec. 31, 1999; (2) agency=BMI; (3) field office=BOCA;(4) send a daily report to fax number 561-988-4129; and (5) copy theoriginator of the court-ordered call records 62 request; the formattede-mail message would look as follows:

ADD_COS

“YBTEST”,“BOCA”,“BMI”, “Dec. 1, 1999”, “Dec. 31, 1999”,561,5551212,“[FAX:NETWORK@ 561988 4129]”, “ORIGINATOR”

In one embodiment, once the FORMATTED e-mail MESSAGE is received byFL,NETENG, it is processed by a computer software program calledmaster.dbo.ADD_COS. A system stored software program SCHEDULED TASK canbe called every two minutes to check for mail with the subject of “COS.”The scheduled task is called “Process Mail.” Once received, the storedsoftware program in the message line is executed on the data that isprovided within the e-mail message. In one embodiment of the method, theprocess ADD_COS loads the data into a table 100 called AMA.dbo.COS. Thistable 100 is used to track when the court order was added to the system206, what the mobile area code (NPA) is and what the mobile number (NXX)is, what the start and stop dates of the court order are and some statusinformation as it relates to the court order and how many facsimiletransmission attempts there have been, if applicable.

2. Deleting or Changing a Court-ordered Request for Call Records

In one embodiment of the method, to delete a court-ordered request forcall records 62, the user can change the “stop date” to an expired date.For example, to delete or change a court-ordered request for callrecords 62 the user can send a formatted e-mail message as follows:

Send an e-mail to: FL,NETENG with the subject line as COS and themessage line as

CHANGE CHANGE_COS “c”,“f”,“a”,“s”,“st”,npa,nxx,“r”, “cp”

where

c=court order number

f=Field Office

a=agency

s=start date

st=stop date

npa=area code

nxx=mobile number

r=email address or fax number of recipient

cp=email address or fax number of person to copy

In one embodiment, in order to change the mobile telephone number of theabove-added court order, the message would look as follows:

ADD_COS

“YBTEST”,“BOCA”,“BMI”, “Dec. 01, 1999”, Dec. 31, 1999”,561,5559999,“[FAX:NETWORK@ 561988 4129]”, “ORIGINATOR”

Once the formatted e-mail message is received by the recipientFL,NETENG, it is processed by a software program calledmaster.dbo.CHANGE_COS. Again, a system software program can be called,for example, every two minutes to check for e-mail with the subject of“COS.” As discussed above, this scheduled task is called “Process Mail.”Once received, instructions associated with the software program in themessage line are executed according to the data provided within thee-mail message. A computer software program CHANGE _COS can be used tomodify the data in a table 100 called AMA.dbo.COS. Any informationexcept the actual court order number can be modified.

3. Automated Record Collection

In one embodiment, each morning at 1:00 am, for example, a scheduledtask computer software program called “COS Record Processing” can beexecuted by the surveillance system 206. This program queries thedistributed database management system 56 for any telephone call records62 collected for the telecommunication device number defined within therequest for call records 62. These call records 62 are then copied to adedicated table 100 (COS RECORDS). From the COS RECORDS table 100another query can be issued such that only the call records 62 betweenthe start and stop dates of the current court-ordered requests areprovided. These call records 62 are then sent by way of facsimiletransmission to the individual identified or defined in the AMA.dbo.COStable 100, the originator for example.

A scheduled task computer software program (COS Fax Result Processing)can be executed each hour on the hour, for example. Its purpose is toread e-mail messages showing the status of each facsimile that has beensent by the system 206 to determine if it was sent successfully. Thistask will set the “deliveryfax” field of the AMA.dbo.COS table 100 to“SENT” or “FAIL” depending on the results of the facsimile transmission.Another scheduled computer software program (COS Fax Resend) is run eachhour on the half hour, for example, to resend any failed facsimiletransmissions. Once the facsimile has been resent its “deliveryfax”field is set to “IP” (in progress). Both of these scheduled programs canbe executed from 6AM until noon daily.

4. Automated Reports

Automated reports can be generated from the scheduled task computersoftware program “COS Status Report”, the instructions associatedtherewith, which can be executed, for example, at 8 am and Noon. Thisreport provides a list of active court orders as well as the status ofthe corresponding records delivered by way of facsimile transmission.

5. Example Facsimile

One example of a facsimile that is transmitted by the system 206 isdiscussed below.

_CALL RECORDS FOR 954 5620001_(—)

Initial Cell and Last Cell=cccccrrr where ccc=cell number

Duration=mmmmss.t where m=minutes, s=seconds, t=tenths of a second

TYPE: Originating NPA: 954 NXX: 5620001 Voice Channel Dec 13 1999 7:34AM Stamp: Answer Stamp: Dec 13 1999 7:34 AM Dialed NPA: 561 Dialed NXX:9953900 Initial Cell: 71093 Last Cell: 6132 DURATION: 4547

6. Example Report

One example of a report that can be generated by the system 206 isdiscussed below.

Any failed facsimiles will be re-sent hourly (from 6 am to Noon) untilit is successfully sent.

CourtOrderNumber Expiration Fax NXX Added Start 001C14 3089009 Jan 182000 6:14 PM 01/12/00 03/12/00 SENT 001C20 3233726 Jan 19 2000 10:20 AM01/10/00 03/10/00 SENT 001C21 4983638 Jan 20 2000 8:58 AM 01/10/0003/10/00 SENT

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the above methods andreports are merely example implementations. Accordingly, the specificembodiments discussed above should be viewed as examples and not aslimiting the scope of the invention.

D. Obtaining Real-time Information Associated with a Cellular TelephoneNetwork

Referring now to FIG. 12, where one embodiment of a logic flow diagram220 for obtaining real-time information associated with atelecommunication network 25 is illustrated in block diagram form. Atblock 222, cell site 86 specific information associated with atelecommunication network 25 is stored in a shared database 22 on areal-time basis. For example, at block 224, a list of the type of cellsite 86 specific information is listed. The cell site 86 specificinformation illustrated in block 224 includes the cell name, the cellnumber, the location code, the address, the latitude/longitude, theswitch number, the battery information, the building information, thecontact information, directions to the site, the facility circuitidentification numbers and log entries of any changed data, for example.

Once the information enumerated in block 224 is stored in the shareddatabase 22 as indicated in block 222, at decision block 226 adetermination is made as to whether there exists across thetelecommunication network 25 an emergency or a call outage. If there isno emergency or call outage, the program will continue to store any newcell site 86 specific information associated with the telecommunicationnetwork 25. If, at block 226, it is determined that there is anemergency or call outage, at block 228 the system 56 enables real-timeaccess to the shared database 22 thereby allowing one or more computerprograms 20 that are executing on the system 56. At block 230, thesystem 56 maintains a log entry of any accesses that are made to theshared databases 22 by the various computer programs 20. At block 232,as variables are accessed by the one or more users of the shareddatabase 22, a certain level of security is maintained by the system 56.

One embodiment of the distributed database management system 56 canprovide a user with several items of information. For example, the usercan be provided with real-time information associated with atelecommunication network such as: cell name, cell number, locationcode, address, latitude/longitude, switch number, battery information(e.g., type, manufacturer, model) for all strings, building information(e.g., building and tower type, gate codes, generator information),contact information (e.g., fire, police, landlord etc.), directions tothe site, facility circuit identification numbers and log entries foraudits of changed data. In one embodiment, the user can be provided withemergency data associated with the telecommunication network.

Various entities such as people, groups and departments within a companygenerally maintain information relating to their specific business areain their -own spreadsheets and databases. In order to consolidate theinformation from these various entities, a common database 22 isprovided for storing the information from the various entities. Once theinformation is stored in a common database 22, it can be made availableto users associated with the various entities as well as to variousother computer software programs 20 residing on the system 56.Accordingly, a software program that is executing somewhere on thesystem 56 will automatically pick up information that would normally bestored in separate, inaccessible, storage devices associated with eachentity. For example, if the user enters an address into the system 56,the computer software programs will automatically pick up that addresson a real-time basis. In addition, providing a common database 22 allowsthe system 56 to maintain a certain level of security. For example,users that are responsible for an address will still be able to accessthat address without other users overriding their settings.

If the user selects cell numbering, a cell number will be provided.Furthermore, the user can look for a particular site by selecting thatoption or clicking on an icon displayed on a system 56 output device.Accordingly, the system 56 will provide the user with the name of thecell site, the number of the cell site, the location code of the cellsite, the last time the code was modified, the company number, theswitch 58 that the cell site is located in, who the responsible fieldengineer is, address, city, state, zip, latitude, longitude and thefacility information associated with that cell site. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate that “facilities” are provided to make aconnection between the cell site and the switch 58 for various datalinks, such that the switch 58 can communicate with the cell site 86.Moreover, the system will provide the user with information that can beretrieved from other computer software programs 20, for example afacility management program. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the above list is not exhaustive and should not be considered aslimiting the invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate thatthe information can be initially populated in a table 100 from a commontable 100 that is shared by all the computer software programsthroughout the system 56.

For example, if the user selects to review generator or batteryinformation of a particular cell site 86, the system 56 will provide theuser with information associated with the generator and the battery. Oneembodiment of the system 56 provides the user with a string foridentifying a 24-volt battery which includes the battery type, thebattery manufacturer, the battery model number, the number of activecells there are and where they are physically located. The sameinformation can be provided in a string for identifying a 48-voltbattery.

If the user selects to review building information of a particular cellsite 86, the system will provide the telephone information, the buildingtype, the company number, the tower type, whether there is a gate at thetower, the gate key, if there is a gate key, and if there is, whetherthere is a gate code. In addition, the system can provide differenttypes of information about the generator, fuel loads and the like.

If the user selects to review contact information relating to aparticular cell site 86, the system will provide police, fire, water,Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), gas company, landlord andelectric company contact information, the meter number, the account andvarious other pieces of contact information. In addition, the system canprovide the name of the RF Engineer, the name of the Cell Manager andthe like. In addition, the system provides logging and tracking of dataassociated with a particular cell site 86 in case there is ever a needto roll back the data. Moreover, a complete history of a particular cellsite 86 can be provided to the user. The information discussed above isby no means exhaustive. For example, the system can provide additionalpieces of information associated with a particular cell site 86 such asmaintenance of routine history, the last time the generator was run, thelast time the generator was inspected, when the warranty will expire andthe like. Therefore, from one software program 20, the user can obtain avariety of information about a particular site.

The system 56 also provides information associated withtelecommunication facilities that go from the switch 58 to the cell site86 for the data links so that they can communicate with each other. Inaddition, the system 56 provides information about telecommunicationfacilities that actually pass through the cell site 86 or another sitein the telecommunication system 25. With respect to any one of thetelecommunication facilities, for example microwave facilities, the usercan identify by the numbers any telecommunication facilities that passthrough, terminate or originate at a particular cell site 86. The useralso can be provided with a map of the state and will be able to zoom inand see all of the telecommunication facilities on the screen of theoutput device. The user can then access these facilities by clicking onthe respective icons or images displayed on the output device.

The user can select a built-in query generator. Accordingly, the systemprovides the user with all the information associated with the queryvalue. For example, if the user queries the system 56 for cell sites 86where the field engineer meets certain criteria, the system 56 willprovide the user with a list of all the current field engineers as wellas those who have left or have gone to different cities, but are stillmaintained in the database 22.

The system also provides reports. For example, referring to a cell site86, the system will print a report of a majority of the informationassociated with that particular cell site 86 and place it into one form.The report provides the user with values such as the cell location, thefield engineer, the building information, the generator information andthe like. In order to print the reports, the output can be directed toprint the report to the screen, a printer or plotter depending on whichoutput device happens to be selected by the user.

Also, the system provides the telecommunication facility identificationnumbers and a variety of other miscellaneous information. The user canaccess this information either on a per cell site basis or the user canprint them all at one time. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat all of the information described above is available to the user ona real-time basis. For example, another software program that is beingexecuted on the system will be able to identify any changes that aremade in the database 22 on a real-time basis.

E. Tracking the Deployment of Cellular Telephone Network Sites inReal-time

One embodiment of the system, method and apparatus for obtainingreal-time information associated with the deployment of cellulartelecommunication network sites. The system, method and apparatusprovide a user with information regarding the deployment of cellulartelecommunication network sites across a geographic region on areal-time basis.

Generally, one or more users are provided with up to date, real-timeproject information that would otherwise not be available to them. Withrelated art systems, methods and apparatuses the one or more users wouldgenerally meet in person in order to discuss changes to be implementedin a cellular telecommunication network site deployment project, but atthe meeting they would not have up-to-date real-time informationregarding the cellular telecommunication network site deployment projectstatus. Also, team members of other groups would not necessarily know orhave up to date information of the progress being made on a particularproject by another group. One embodiment of the real-time softwareprogram provides the one or more users with the means for inputtinginformation in a common database 22 and executing one or computersoftware programs 20 for tracking changes, progress and performance of aspecified cellular telecommunication network site deployment project ona real-time basis.

Although there are commercially available project management computersoftware programs, for example MICROSOFT PROJECT TM, such programs haveshortcomings. The MICROSOFT PROJECT TM software program, for example,does not provide the necessary features that are required for trackingthe deployment of cellular telephone network sites on a real-time basis.For example, there are various features of the deployment processdescribed below such as the ability of interacting by way of e-mailmessaging and providing information on a real-time basis such that whena user invokes the deployment software program and looks at a particulardate, the user will know that the information is being provided on areal-time basis and is up-to-date.

The deployment project software program described herein reduces theamount of time required for tracking the progress of new cellulartelecommunication network site deployments, as well as tracking theprogress of any changes being made to existing cellulartelecommunication network sites. One embodiment of the deploymentproject software program provides a computer software program fortracking changes to deployment project timelines through the use ofcolor-coding and providing summary level information about thedeployment project to the user. The deployment software program iscapable of managing changes to the deployment in a dynamic way.Accordingly, the computer software program provides instant, real-timeaccess, to date changes within the project plan, who made those changesand when the changes were made.

One embodiment includes a feature providing color-coding to indicate ata glance when project parameters have been modified from a previoussetting. For example, dates that are modified from a previous reset ormodification may be shown to the user in several different colors. Datesthat have been pulled in (e.g., the project task has been shortened) canbe shown in green. Dates that have been pushed out (e.g., the projecttask has been lengthened) can be shown in red. Dates that have notchanged may be shown in black. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat these are but a few examples of a color-coding scheme and shouldnot be considered as a limiting feature of the invention as manycolor-coding schemes may be employed in order to visually alert the userthat a project parameter has been modified without departing from thescope of the invention.

The color-coding scheme provides to the individual users anacknowledgment of date changes, thereby allowing the user to make aquick identification of any new changes that were made to the projectplan because the user last glanced at the project plan. The system alsoprovides the user with any prior activity information by merely placingthe cursor on the desired field. The system also can provide detailedlog entries of any changes showing the field name, the old value, thenew value, the time/date stamp and the individual user who made thechange. Furthermore, the system also can provide customized reportsincluding a detailed company report showing completed dates and changeddates using shading and highlighted boxes for quick identification,providing user definable date field titles in all tracking modules anduser definable filters. Moreover, the system also can automaticallyprovide priority renumbering upon changes in project priority;automatically sending e-mail messages upon dates being marked completedor changed by a user; automatically populating dates downstream basedupon predefined time intervals; and allowing sub-dates that can orcannot be forced prior to the marking of the main completion date.

Another feature provides the capability of tracking the performance of acellular telecommunication network site and also provides the capabilityof tracking the performance of any active projects associated therewith.Also, another feature can provide a centrally accessible repository ofproject data, thereby eliminating the need to keep and maintainindividual databases, spreadsheets and the like.

Furthermore, the deployment project software program can track a varietyof information regarding to when the information was exchanged. Also,the deployment project software program can provide automatic downstreaming, such that if a user changes a date, the program has theability to automatically change the dates downstream of the modifieddates. Moreover, the deployment project software program also can sendthe user e-mail messages upon the occurrence of a predetermined eventassociated with the deployment project plan. For example, if aparticular date upstream of the current date is changed or thedeployment at a particular site is complete, the program sends an e-mailmessage to the user's e-mail address informing the user that such anevent occurred. In addition, rules can be provided in order to preventcertain dates from being marked as being complete. Also, there arecertain functions that cannot take place unless other information hasbeen provided to the database 22 in order to keep the database 22 up todate and to ensure that up to date addresses, phone numbers and zipcodes are available to the program.

1. The Deployment Process

From the opening screen of the deployment project program, a user canbegin managing cellular telecommunication network site projects bycreating new deployment sites, changing deployment types and the like. Asecurity layer has been included in the software program to provideusers with administrative privileges. For example, a security layer canbe added to a peripheral, to a table 100 or on a per user basis suchthat the system can dictate who is allowed to make certain changes todeployment project parameters. This security feature can be usefulbecause the databases and spreadsheets have been removed from thevarious individual user groups and have been placed in a centrallyaccessible repository. With the security feature, individual user groupshave the ability of adding information, which is applicable only tospecific user groups, and thereby prevent other users from changing thatinformation. Additional administrative functions, such as who belongs towhich user group and provisions for hand-generated reports also can beprovided.

If given the rights, a user also has the ability of viewing or updatingprojects, viewing or updating specific cell sites and subsequentlyediting such projects and cell sites. In addition, the user can have theoption of simply viewing the information provided by the deploymentproject program without updating or editing the information becauseunder the viewing function the user generally cannot make any changes.This feature provides protection and maintains the integrity of thedatabase 22 and allows the user to freely view the information withoutcorrupting the data or programs therein.

One project screen allows a user to define a new project and assignvarious people to work on the project. The user also is permitted toenter project descriptions into the system and track any dates that theuser wants to track on a per project basis. Furthermore, the user isprovided with a notes tab where the user can enter project informationsuch as an ongoing history for the site or for a particular project.

In order to view cellular telecommunication network deployments at aspecific cell site, a user can click on a software button and displaythe desired region. For example, if a South Florida region is selected,the switches 58 for South Florida are displayed on the output device 44.Furthermore, if the entire state of Florida is selected, the user canclick on the appropriate software button and can view the entire stateof Florida rather than just the South Florida region.

One embodiment of the system can provide two different types of views.For example, a user can assign custom titles or the user can usestandard titles, which can be selected as the default that are providedwith the software program. Also as a default, the system comes up bydisplaying the current schedule, any claims that are outstanding andopen cell sites that have not yet been deployed. The user also has theoption of going off the schedule to view the project's history.

In one embodiment, the project dates can be grouped according tospecific departments. For example, in one view only the EngineeringDepartment's project dates can be displayed for a user. Likewise,project dates may only be viewed based on deployment type, date,tracking site, coverage site and the like. For example, a user canselect to look at a deployment type or the user can select to look atall parameters. In addition, a user can define certain types ofdeployment projects or certain deployment cell sites that the user maywant to look at periodically such as every Friday, for example. The useralso can set up custom views so as to avoid looking at information thatbelongs to other groups or departments. In order to view a projectschedule, a user can select view schedule and the system will list everycell site that is currently under deployment.

Furthermore, as discussed above, the deployment program displaysschedules with certain color-coding. For example, the color-coding onone side of the display can be different than the color-coding on theother side. Red color codes can indicate that something within theproject has changed. The user is generally not provided with the detailsof what has changed in the project. Rather, the color-coding visuallyalerts the user that something has changed because that user has lastlooked at the project schedule. Therefore, the color-coding provides theuser with an immediate visual feedback regarding the project statusbecause the last time he or she viewed the schedule.

If the user acknowledges all of the changes to the project that areindicated in red, the next time that user accesses the deploymentprogram, and nothing else has changed, everything will appear in a greencolor-code. This allows a user, each time they log into the deploymentprogram, to focus only on the project parameters that are color-coded inred, because those are the only items that have changed because theprevious log in.

In one embodiment, the color-coding scheme can be implemented on a peruser basis such that if one user has not acknowledged certain changes,those changes will still appear on the screen in red while those sameparameters will appear in green on another user's screen who hasacknowledged the changes. Accordingly, every user logged into the systemcan track the performance of the same project and its status somewhatindependently of the other users. If the color on one side of the screenis blue, then that particular date is the same as originally populated.If it is red, then that particular date has been pushed out (e.g.,lengthened). If it is green, then that particular date has been pulledin (e.g., shortened).

A user can also sort project parameters on any columns by clicking onthe heading and getting a detailed view. The user can accomplish this byeither clicking on the edit button or by clicking on any of theappropriate icons displayed on the screen. The deployment softwareprogram will then display all of the different dates according to theuser's selection. A plus symbol indicates that additional sub-datesexist for that particular task. In order to look at the sub-dates, theuser can click on the plus symbol and thereby break down the sub-datesinto a more detailed view.

A user also can be provided with additional information by the program.For example, a user can view or access the cell tower heights,prioritize particular cells, assign a project manager, assign a fieldengineer, assign an operations manager, assign a real estate manager andthe like. A user also can set up rules for final inspection or marking aparticular task as being completed.

The deployment software program can perform automatic down streaming toallow the various users to define specific time intervals. For example,automatic down streaming would apply if someone changes a constructionstart date by a number of days. Accordingly, the deployment softwareprogram will automatically populate and search the number of days beyondthe original date and step through the entire table 100. In turn,everyone will know the proper intervals in which to accomplish his orher tasks.

In final system design, if a user changes a date or marks it beingcompleted, the user can change the project's date of completion to occurin a certain number of days after the system design is completed. Thatway, if the system design date gets pulled in or pushed out, theproject's date automatically get pulled in or pushed out. Those skilledin the art will appreciate that these intervals can be defined on aper-site deployment basis. This ca be done, for example, throughtemplates so that for some deployment types the intervals will bedifferent.

In one embodiment, other cell site specific details can be provided bythe deployment project program. For example, the system allows thevarious users to track building and generator information, themanufacturer, power voltage, the type of building and other similarinformation associated with the project. A user also can display teammembers that are responsible for certain sites, facilities and othermiscellaneous details. All of this information is kept in a detailed logof the project's activities. It also provides the user with the date ofthe field that was changed, the action done to the particular field,whether the date was pulled in and what the old date was, what the newdate is and who actually changed it. Accordingly, the various users willalways have a good history of what is happening with any changes made tothe project.

The cell site specific details information is valuable, for example, ifone user has changed a parameter and another user needs to know why thechange was made. Accordingly, the other user can look at the project andview the cell site specific details information in order to find out whythe change was made. Even if no notes are entered in the history, thename of the person who made the change will always be provided and theuser will thus know who made the changes. For example, in situationswhere changes are made to schedules but no reason is documented for thechange, a user could go back to the log and ask the previous user whomade the changes, and what they were doing on a specific day at aspecific time. When provided with this kind of information, the previoususer may suddenly remember why they had made the changes to the projecton that particular date and it is thus useful to provide suchinformation to the user.

One embodiment of the deployment project software program can provideactual photographic representations or actual images of the individualcell sites. The deployment project software program can provide e-mailmessaging functionality. For example, a user that is responsible for aninitial design plan will not start on the design until the user knowsthat a property has been acquired. Rather than force the user toconstantly monitor this cell site, the user can set up the deploymentproject software program such that whenever the property is acquired andthe change is detected, that particular task is marked completed orchanged. Accordingly, the deployment project software program will thensend that user an e-mail message thereby informing the user that theacquisition of the property is completed and that the user may now beginwith the design task. With the e-mail messaging capability, a user canactually perform all of the user's project tasks without logging intothe deployment project software program until receiving an e-mailnotification that makes it necessary for the user to log-in. The e-mailmessaging functionality can be triggered on the basis of dates, whichare marked as being completed, or on dates that have been edited. E-mailmessaging also is useful if the user wishes to be alerted wheneveranother user pushes out a date that will in some way affect the user'sother tasks. For example, for planning purposes, a user may wish to knowthat another user is pushing out a date, but the user does not want toconstantly log into the deployment process in order to find out.

One embodiment of the deployment project program can automaticallyprovide information for populating other computer software programs orprocesses with deployment information. For example, the users' projecttime sheets can be verified for the proper number of hours to ensurethat time has not been charged against non-existing codes or codes thathave been closed and then provide that information to conventionalspreadsheet programs.

One embodiment of the deployment program can provide report tables 100to an output device. The report tables 100 can include certain genericfields that may be desired on every report. The reports also can includevarious visual aids to alert the user at a glance of certaincharacteristics of the data portrayed in the report. In one example, thedates on the report can be shaded to indicate that the date has beenmarked as being complete. In one example, the date can be surrounded bya box to indicate that the date has been changed because a priordeployment. If a date has both shading and a box around it, the date hasbeen changed but is now complete. Those skilled in the art willappreciate, that these aids are provided such that the user can easilyrecognize them at a glance and other aids may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

In use, the deployment software program can be executed as needed by theusers or deployment project team members in order to track the progressof various deployment projects. Once a deployment team meets, it can,for example, reset all of the flags and the project parameters such thatall entries appear in black instead of red or green and thereby removethe color-coding and the users will essentially be starting out with afresh screen.

In one embodiment, the user can perform site administration from ascreen that is provided for managing various deployment sites. The usercan add a new cell site by entering the geographic market that the cellsite is located in. For example, the user can enter new sites in SouthFlorida, West Florida and other cities. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the software program can display more than one site onone server. In addition to the site, the program requires that the userenter a cell name. However, at this time the cell number or the switchnumber is not required because the user may not actually know what thosenumbers are. Also, if required by the particular site, a priority can beentered at this time. If a priority is not provided, the user can assignit the highest priority number. In addition, the program can prompt theuser to enter the name of the equipment engineer, the type ofdeployment, the name of the facility engineer and, optionally, anyproject budget information.

In addition, the user can assign the same cell site more than once. Forexample, the user can access a site candidate list in order to selectthe new site from a primary site and a number of secondary sites. Forexample, based on the property that has been acquired for the site,multiple sites can be assigned in parallel. Accordingly, when one ofthose sites first becomes available, or turns out to be the best choice,it will be selected and the others will be dropped.

The user also can perform additional administrative functions and hasthe ability to view various tables 100. For example, the user can view abuilding table 100, which defines the type of buildings that arecurrently being utilized at the deployment sites. The user can also viewan employee table 100 to see which employees have been assigned to theproject, their identification numbers, and the like. In one embodiment,a master administrator can be assigned to each deployment project andseveral other administrators can be assigned below the masters. In otherwords, several different levels of administrative privileges can beassigned.

A user also has the capability of adding security functions. Forexample, fields can be added where the user can assign a group andindividuals that are part of that group. For example, in one table 100the user can enter the name, number and building type and all of thefields that a particular user has access to will be displayed on thescreen and the user can find out who has permission to change whichfields on a per table 100 basis. The user also can specify who belongsto the various groups, which fields are available to a specific groupand which fields within the group are available to the individual. Theuser can define the group and the members of the group. Also, forsecurity reasons, the user can automatically import information into thedeployment software program from another software program, e.g., aspreadsheet. The information can include any new information beingcreated such as a new market reference.

One embodiment of the invention can be implemented using visual basicand DB6, for example. Referring to FIG. 1, a user is assigned to aworkstation 26, which is in communication with an application server 12and a shared server 14. One difference between the application server 12and the shared server 14 is that the application server 12 is,generally, a “read only” server, while information can be written to andread from by the shared server 14. When the user executes instructionsassociated with a primary software program, for example the distributeddata in formation system 10 including one or more locally developedcomputer software programs 20 using a common database 22, the user firstaccesses the application server 12. Then, the individual softwareprogram grants access to the current deployment project when it executesand communicates with the shared server 14. This provides the capabilityof allowing the various users to utilize attachments. In order to useattachments, the deployment project program needs to be able to write tothe shared server 14 and to make that information available to all userswithin a particular region or state.

Accordingly, in one embodiment, the deployment project program begins byaccessing the application server 14 and then accessing the databaseserver 16, an SQL database server for example. The deployment projectsoftware program provided by the application server 12 then communicateswith the SQL database server 16 and the shared server 14 and all of theinstructions associated with the deployment project software program areretrieved from the application server 12. Each one of the softwareprograms can either have a table 100 stored in the application server 12or they may have an initialization file associated therewith thatdirects the main program. Normally, the main program reads theinitialization file first to determine which servers are available forits access.

2. Example Deployment Operation

One embodiment of the deployment software program is selected from amenu screen of the shared server 14 of the distributed informationsystem 10. This includes one or more locally developed computer softwareprograms 20 using a common database 22, as discussed above. The userthen highlights the menu item corresponding to the region the user wantsto work with and displays a dropdown menu. “DEPLOYMENT” is then selectedfrom the menu list and the user clicks the mouse button to start theDEPLOYMENT program. The DEPLOYMENT welcome screen then appears.Subsequently, the DEPLOYMENT main menu is displayed. Some of the buttonson the DEPLOYMENT menu may be disabled; this is normal as certainfeatures are reserved for the administrator.

The Schedule Detail screen provides a number of sub-dates and theability to add additional supplementary data items to both main andsub-dates. A user-interface is provided to allow users withadministrative access privileges to add both sub-dates and supplementarydate detail items. To display the Schedule Detail screen, the userclicks either the View Sites or Update Sites button. If the user plansto make changes to the Schedule Detail, the Update Sites is selected;otherwise the user can click the View Sites button. Both choices willcause the Schedule Query screen to appear.

The Schedule Query screen contains several sections that can bedisplayed by clicking the appropriate tab near the top of the formdisplayed on the output screen. Initially, the Options tab will bedisplayed allowing the user to select a subset of all availabledeployment sites. The user then checks the desired Groups and DeploymentTypes by clicking in the desired box and then to view the selection, theuser clicks the OK button. Alternatively, the user can click the tablabeled Schedule. The user can further qualify the deployment sitesshown in a subsequent query screen by selecting Default Titles or CustomTitles. Furthermore, the user can choose View Current Schedule to viewsites currently being managed by the DEPLOYMENT program. Alternatively,to view sites that have completed the deployment project the userselects View Off Schedule.

The user selects the Deployment Schedule Query after having completedthe Options selections by clicking OK in order to proceed to theSchedule Query results tab. DEPLOYMENT will display all the sites thatfit the previous selected options. The user may also sort the table 100according to any column by double-clicking that column's heading eitherin ascending or descending order by selecting the Sort Ascending or SortDescending buttons as desired.

The user also may display the deployment schedule for a particular cellsite by double-clicking the row containing that site. Accordingly,DEPLOYMENT will load the selected cell site and proceed to theDeployment Schedule Detail screen.

The Deployment Schedule Detail screen displays the Schedule Detail formthat contains most of the features associated with the DEPLOYMENTsoftware program. If the user desires to view a larger section of thedeployment schedule, the user can vertically resize the window. Somebuttons along the bottom of the form perform the following functions:

Rules: This appears if the user has administrator access and allows theuser to add or change the date validation rules. These rules should besatisfied in order to mark a task as being complete on a certain date.

New Subdate: This appears if the user has administrator access andallows the user to create a sub date associated with the highlightedmain date.

Date Details: This button takes the user to the Date Details dialog,allowing the user to enter items of information associated with thehighlighted main date or sub date. Furthermore, if the user hasadministrative access, the user can define new items of information thatsupport the schedule date in question.

Expand All allows the user to view additional dates and text detailwhich are sub-dates and detail of a main date. This button is labeled“COLLAPSE,” and after being depressed it hides the sub-dates and thedetails.

When the user attempts to mark a date as complete, DEPLOYMENT performsseveral validation checks to ensure the integrity of the deploymentschedule. It is possible to receive several error messages. For example,the first error message occurs when a required field has not beenpopulated. In another case, the error message advises the user that itis necessary to populate the Site County field before the date inquestion can be marked complete. In yet another example, the errormessage advises the user that the required date-details items have beenleft unpopulated. Still another error message advises the user that arequired date detail item has not been entered. Still a further errormessage advises the user that an attempt has been made to complete amain date that contains a KEY sub date. Accordingly, the user shouldmark the KEY sub date as being completed. The main date will be markedautomatically.

Date details are provided as a way of storing items of information thatare not necessarily dates. Furthermore, the date detail items can beassociated with a particular main or sub date. The user may view andenter information for date details by clicking the Date Details button.A dialog box will appear. Generally, the date detail includes text;however checkboxes can also be displayed. The user types the text foreach information box or checks the box as may be required. Red datedetails are required and should be populated in order to mark the dateor sub date complete. The user has finished entering data, the user canclick the Save button to save the date details. The information enteredby the user will be transferred to the deployment schedule grid.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments of the variousembodiments of the invention has been presented for the purpose ofillustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It isintended that the scope of the invention be limited not with thedescription above but rather by the claims appended hereto.

The claimed invention is:
 1. A computer-assisted automated method,comprising: tracking deployment of cellular telephone network sites;obtaining real-time characteristie information about the deployment ofthe sites; providing the characteristie information to one or more usersin real-time; receiving variables associated with the characteristicinformation in a computer through an interface adapted for receiving thevariables; visually encoding changes in the variables; providing visualfeedback on a display device associated with the computer foridentifying changes to the variables; in real-time, processing thevariables with the computer; in real-time, tracking changes to thecharacteristic information made during the cellular telephone networksite deployment process based on the variables; and displayingup-to-date characteristic information of the cellular network site onthe display device.
 2. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising providing summary characteristic information of thevariables.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein tracking changesto the characteristic information of the cellular telephone network sitedeployment process comprises tracking changes to the characteristicinformation of the cellular telephone network site deployment processselected from the group consisting of project timelines, changes made tothe project variables, and summary project variables.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein providing variables through an interfacecomprises providing variables through an interface shared by one or moreusers.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the one or more usershave access to changes made to the characteristic information of thecellular telephone network site deployment project by at least one otheruser.
 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the at least one userhas access to changes that were made to the characteristic informationof the cellular telephone network site deployment project and which usermade those changes.
 7. The method according to claim 1, whereindetermining changes to the characteristic information of the cellulartelephone network site deployment project comprises: determining taskpriorities; and automatically renumbering the task priorities.
 8. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein tracking changes to thecharacteristic information of the cellular telephone network sitedeployment process comprises automatically providing electronic mailmessages to a predetermined electronic mail account upon project datesbeing marked completed or changed.
 9. The method according to claim 1,wherein tracking changes to the characteristic information of thecellular telephone network site deployment process comprisesautomatically updating a downstream date population based uponpredefined time intervals.
 10. An apparatus, comprising: a computer foruse in tracking the deployment of the cellular telephone sites, thecomputer having one or more processors that execute one or more sets ofinstructions, a memory device for storing the one or more sets ofinstructions to be executed, a storage device coupled to the one or moreprocessors, and a display device for displaying information; and theinstructions in the memory device in the computer causing the one ormore processors to: track the deployment of cellular telephone networksites; obtain real-time characteristic information about the deploymentof the sites; provide the characteristic information to one or moreusers in real-time; receive variables associated with characteristicinformation about the deployment of a cellular telephone network sitefrom one or more users; store the variables in the storage device;visually encode changes in the variables; provide visual feedback on adisplay device associated with the computer for identifying changes tothe variables; in real-time, process the variables with the computer; inreal-time, track changes to the characteristic information made duringthe cellular telephone network site deployment process based on thevariables; and display up-to-date characteristic information of thecellular network site on the display device.
 11. The apparatus accordingto claim 10, wherein the display device is selected from the groupconsisting of a monitor, a printer, a facsimile, and a plotter.
 12. Theapparatus according to claim 10, wherein the instructions in the memorydevice of the computer cause the one or more processors to providesummary information of associated with the variables.
 13. The apparatusaccording to claim 10, wherein the instructions in the memory device ofthe computer cause the one or more processors to track changes selectedfrom the group consisting of timelines, the variables, and summary ofthe variables.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein theinstructions in the memory device of the computer cause the one or moreprocessors to provide an interface to one or more users.
 15. Theapparatus according to claim 14, wherein the one or more users haveaccess to changes that were made to the characteristic information ofthe cellular telephone site by at least one other user.
 16. Theapparatus according to claim 15, wherein the at least one user hasaccess to changes that were made to the characteristic information ofthe cellular telephone network site and which user made the changes. 17.The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the instructions in thememory device of the computer include instructions that cause the one ormore processors to: determine task priorities; and automaticallyrenumber the priorities.
 18. The apparatus according to claim 10,wherein the instructions in the memory device of the computer includeinstructions that cause the one or more processors to provide electronicmail messages upon project dates being marked completed or changed. 19.The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the instructions in thememory device of the computer include instructions that cause the one ormore processors to automatically update downstream date population basedupon predefined time intervals.
 20. A computer readable medium having aset of computer instructions encoded thereon, comprising: the set ofcomputer instructions being operative with a computer to: track thedeployment of cellular telephone network sites; obtain real-timecharacteristic infonnation about the deployment of the sites; providethe characteristic information to one or more users in real-time;provide an interface for entering variables associated withcharacteristic information of a cellular telephone network site into acomputer; visually encode changes in the variables; in real-time,process the variables with the computer; in real-time, track changes tothe characteristic information made during the cellular telephonenetwork site deployment process based on the variables; and displayup-to-date characteristic information of the cellular network site on adisplay device.
 21. A system, comprising: a plurality of computersinterconnected in a network for use in tracking the deployment of thecellular telephone sites, the plurality of computers each having one ormore processors, a memory device for storing one or more sets ofinstructions to be executed, a storage device coupled to the one or moreprocessors, and a display device for displaying information; at leastone computer being operative to execute the one or more sets ofinstructions; and the one or more sets of sets of instructions in thememory device in at least one computer causing the one or moreprocessors associated therewith to: track the deployment of cellulartelephone network sites; obtain real-time characteristic informationabout the deployment of the sites; provide the characteristicinformation to one or more users in real-time; receive variablesassociated with characteristic information about the deployment of acellular telephone network site from one or more users associated withone or more other computers coupled to the network; store the variablesin the storage device associated with one or more computers coupled tothe network; visually encode changes in the variables; provide visualfeedback on a display device associated with the computer foridentifying changes to the variables; in real-time, process thevariables with the computer; in real-time, track changes to thecharacteristic information made during the cellular telephone networksite deployment process based on the variables; and display up-to-datecharacteristic information of the cellular network site on the displaydevice, the display device being coupled to the network.
 22. The systemaccording to claim 21, wherein the display device is selected from thegroup consisting of a monitor, a printer, a facsimile, a computer, and aplotter.
 23. An apparatus, comprising: computing means for tracking thedeployment of the cellular telephone sites, the computing means havingone or more processors for executing one or more sets of instructions,memory means for storing the one or more sets of instructions to beexecuted and a storage means coupled to the one or more processors; andthe instructions in the memory means to be executed by the computingmeans to: track the deployment of cellular telephone network sites;obtain real-time characteristic information about the deployment of thesites; provide the characteristic information to one or more users inreal-time; receive variables associated with characteristic informationabout the deployment of a cellular telephone network site from one ormore users; store the variables in the storage device; visually encodechanges in the variables; provide visual feedback on a display deviceassociated with the computer for identifying changes to the projectvariables; in real-time, process the variables with the computer; inreal-time, track changes to the characteristic information made duringthe cellular telephone network site deployment process based on thevariables; and display up-to-date characteristic information of thecellular network site on the display device.
 24. A system, comprising: aplurality of computing means interconnected in a network for trackingthe deployment of the cellular telephone sites, the plurality ofcomputing means each having one or more processing means, memory meansfor storing one or more sets of instructions to be executed by theprocessing means, a storage means coupled to the one or more processingmeans, and a display means for displaying information; at least onecomputing means being operative for executing the one or more sets ofinstructions; and the one or more sets of sets of instructions in thememory means in at least one computing means causing the one or moreprocessing means associated therewith to: track the deployment ofcellular telephone network sites; obtain real-time characteristicinformation about the deployment of the sites; provide thecharacteristic information to one or more users in real-time; receivevariables associated with characteristic information about thedeployment of a cellular telephone network site from one or more usersassociated with one or more other computers coupled to the network;store the project variables in the storage device associated with one ormore computers coupled to the network; visually encode changes in thevariables; provide visual feedback on a display device associated withthe computer for identifying changes to the project variables; inreal-time, process the variables with the computer; in real-time, trackchanges to the characteristic information made during the cellulartelephone network site deployment process based on the variables; anddisplay up-to-date characteristic information of the cellular networksite deployment project on the display device, the display device beingcoupled to the network.